Interesting UFO Reports and
Articles from 1999 and 1998



I hope you'll find the following articles and E-Mails as interesting as I did.

Dave

* RESEARCHER'S CLOSE ENCOUNTER WITH GOV'T AGENTS

* CIA VS. COMETA -- OPPOSING VIEWS, STRANGE TIMING

* Arthur C. Clarke's Predictions for BEYOND 2001

* 'USAAF' UFO Research Pre-1947

* French UFO Report, COMETA

* SPECIAL REPORT: STATUS OF THE UFO CONTROVERSY

* Firmage Launches ISSO

* MILLION DOLLARS OFFERED FOR UFO OR PARTS THEREOF

* NATO Meets E.T.

* THE TRUTH ABOUT THE AVIARY !

* DATABASE PROFILES WORLD SIGHTINGS BY DECADE

* Panel Urges Study Of UFO Reports

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9/1/99 -- CNI
RESEARCHER'S CLOSE ENCOUNTER WITH GOV'T AGENTS

CNI News thanks Peter Davenport, director of the National UFO Reporting
Center (NUFORC, http://nwlink.com/~ufocntr/) for permission to reprint this
personal account of an unusual meeting with alleged government agents.
Davenport writes:

I was approached by employees of the U. S. federal government, who
requested a meeting. They first contacted the Hotline on Monday, April 28,
1997. At that time, I was preparing to drive home from Spokane, WA, where I
had made a presentation to the MUFON chapter. I returned their call on the
morning of April 29 and confirmed that they were who they had represented in
their message they were. They requested that we meet sometime soon.

We met on the east coast, beginning at 10:32 am (EDT) on Friday, May
17, 1997, and had what was to have been a one-hour long meeting, but which
went to four hours nonstop.

At the beginning of their meeting, they made their position vis-a-vis
the UFO phenomenon very clear. They represented the following three items in
rapid sequence:

1) That the UFO phenomenon is undeniably real;

2) That UFOs are what they appear to be, namely sophisticated craft
under some kind of intelligent control;

3) Their "organization" is "worried" about them.

The meeting was to have been dedicated to those reports NUFORC has on
file that place alleged UFOs in proximity to commercial airliners. In fact,
we ended up talking about many subjects. The subject of principal interest to
them was TWA 800. They felt that not all of the information about that
accident was getting to the American People.

One question they posed to me that almost "tumbled my gyros" was
whether I had any evidence on file that would suggest to me that there might
be a segment within the U. S. government that was acting in an
extraconstitutional manner, related in any way to the UFO phenomenon.

My answer was "No," although I believe I suggested that there was a
concerted effort on the part of senior members of the government to keep the
minds of Americans off the UFO issue. After some rumination on this incident,
it occurred to me that they might be testing to establish whether I
subscribe, in a "wholesale" fashion, to the government conspiracy issue.

They requested that I not reveal who they are, or what part of the
government they work for, to which I consented. They expressed a strong
preference to not have members of the press knocking on their doors.

They were very cordial... very interesting and stimulating
conversationalists. Not MIB's, supporting my notion that MIB's are probably a
fictional construct.

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9/1/99 -- CNI
CIA VS. COMETA -- OPPOSING VIEWS, STRANGE TIMING

The public release in mid-July of a strongly pro-UFO assessment from a
committee of high ranking French military officers and scientists, reported
in the August 1 edition of CNI News, has been met with deafening silence from
the U.S. government, military and news media.

But the French committee, known as COMETA, included members of such
impressive rank and authority that its UFO assessment can hardly be ignored
as the work of crackpots or mere enthusiasts. According to Bernard Thouanel,
editor at VSD magazine, which published the public edition of the report,
COMETA originally directed their assessment only to the top level of the
French government, and only afterward consented to a public release. Thouanel
told CNI News in an email memorandum that French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin
"met directly [with] one of the COMETA participants privately during more
than half an hour... This meeting occurred before the beginning of the
summer, and obviously before the publication release date (July 16, 1999) on
newsstands.... The Prime Minister looked very interested in this problem."
Thouanel said he was not at liberty to say more at this time, but that he had
very high confidence in the information he had received. He said he assumed
it would be some months before the French government made a formal, visible
response to the COMETA recommendations.

A strong response would seem warranted, given COMETA's findings. Their
assessment unequivocally states that some UFOs appear to represent physical
technology of unknown origin; that the extraterrestrial hypothesis may be the
best explanation in some cases and must not be dismissed; and that UFOs
represent a matter of serious international security concern demanding
coordinated global monitoring, study and response.

As far as CNI News can ascertain, no major news media in the United States,
Britain or other western nations outside France have reported COMETA's
findings. But a possibly related story appeared on August 17, 1999 in the
British publication Electronic Telegraph. Headlined "X-Files version of
history is backed by CIA report," the story summarized a recent historical
review of UFO studies undertaken by the CIA during the period 1947 to 1990.

The CIA report, written by the agency's then-historian Gerald K. Haines, was
originally released following its completion in 1997. At the time, it drew
fire from several UFO researchers including Stanton Friedman and Bruce
Maccabee, who were quick to note numerous inaccuracies and questionable
claims -- for example, the claim that more than half of all U.S. UFO reports
of the late 1950s and 1960s could be accounted for as sightings of the then
top-secret reconnaissance planes U-2 and SR-71. But after a brief round of
controversy, the report faded into obscurity.

Now, according to Electronic Telegraph writer Michael Smith, Haines' CIA
report has resurfaced, this time at the request of a British academic
journal, "Intelligence and National Security," which is publishing the full
text in their current summer edition. As a possible exercise in low-key spin
control, the timing of this republication may be more than coincidental.

In the words of Michael Smith, Haines' "highly critical report describes
often bitter debates between real-life X-Files investigators who believed
that 'the truth is out there' and their sceptical bosses. It records tales
of bumbling undercover agents whose activities fuelled a widespread belief
that the government was covering up what the agency described as
'extra-terrestrial visitations by intelligent beings'.... While the CIA
investigations eventually concluded that all the sightings could be
explained, the report concludes that 'misguided' attempts to keep them secret
led to widespread belief of a government cover-up," Smith says.

Haines himself states that his historical review of the CIA's UFO involvement
was commissioned at the end of 1993 by then-Director of Central Intelligence
(DCI) R. James Woolsey. In Haines' words, "In September 1993 John Peterson,
an acquaintance of Woolsey's, first approached the DCI with a package of
heavily sanitized CIA material on UFOs released to UFOlogist Stanton T.
Friedman. Peterson and Friedman wanted to know the reasons for the
redactions. Woolsey agreed to look into the matter." (It is likely that the
man Haines calls Peterson is John Petersen, a noted futurist who has
occasionally written on the potentially huge impact of human contact with
extraterrestrial intelligence. See, for example, his book "Out of the Blue,"
Arlington Institute 1997, p. 44f.) Also influencing Woolsey's action may have
been his private meeting at about the same time with CSETI's Dr. Steven Greer.

The resulting report by Haines shows that the CIA took the UFO subject very
seriously during the period 1947 through the early 1950s, and thereafter
maintained a moderate and somewhat sporadic interest in the subject at least
through the end of the 1980s (and very probably to the present moment). At
the same time, however, Haines says that CIA officials were adamant about
keeping the public unaware of any agency interest in the UFO controversy.
"Air Force and CIA officials agreed that outside knowledge of Agency interest
in UFOs would make the problem more serious. This concealment of CIA interest
contributed greatly to later charges of a CIA conspiracy and coverup." The
full text of Haines' study can be seen at
http://www.odci.gov/csi/studies/97unclas/ufo.html.

The differences between COMETA's new UFO assessment and Haines' chronicle of
CIA shenanigans are so stark, and the resurfacing of Haines' report is so
neatly juxtaposed with COMETA's release, that one can only wonder if more
than coincidence is at work.

On one hand, COMETA earnestly insists that UFOs are a serious matter
demanding international attention. Not incidentally, COMETA calls attention
to the strong appearance of official U.S. government disinformation with
regard to some alleged UFO incidents, notably Roswell.

On the other hand, Gerald K. Haines paints an "official" historical picture
of CIA bungling and dissension within the agency on how to handle the UFO
problem. This long-running pattern of confusion and obfuscation naturally led
to public suspicions of cover-up, he concedes. But behind it all, UFOs were
repeatedly and unanimously found to represent nothing of security concern;
nor were they judged to be scientifically inexplicable; nor likely to be of
off-planet origin. From 1953 on, the CIA was far more concerned about public
hysteria over UFOs than about the UFO phenomenon itself -- or so goes the
official story. In other words, bungling aside, the CIA's alleged assessment
of UFOs is in complete contradiction with that of COMETA.

In the view of CNI News, the international non-response to COMETA, coupled
with the odd juxtaposition of Haines' CIA report, may well represent an
intentional effort to blunt and contain the impact of COMETA. This view
cannot be proven at this time; but we intend to pursue this story and its
implications with all the resources at our disposal.

NOTE: North American readers can now purchase the full text of the COMETA
report, in French, as published on July 16, 1999 by VSD magazine, from
Arcturus Book Service, 1443 S.E. Port St. Lucie Blvd., Port St. Lucie, FL
34952. For information, email rgirard321@aol.com; or see the Arcturus Books
section on the web at UFO City, http://www.ufocity.com; or call 561-398-0796.
Price of the report is $10.95 plus postage.

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8/26/99 -- Arthur C. Clarke's Predictions for BEYOND 2001

Man lands on Mars, the elderly retire to the moon, humans are cloned.
Welcome to the brave new world

By Arthur C. Clarke

DESPITE ALL CLAIMS TO the contrary, no one can predict the future, and I
have always resisted all attempts to label me a "prophet." I prefer
"extrapolator." What I have tried to do, at least in my non-fiction, is
outline possible "futures" - at the same time pointing out that totally
unexpected inventions or events can make any forecasts absurd after a very
few years. The classic example is the statement in the late 1940s by the
chairman of IBM then that the world market for computers was about five. I
have more in my own office, and they are still breeding like rabbits . . .

But perhaps I'm in no position to criticize Thomas Watson Sr. In Transit of
Earth (1971), I put the first Mars landing in 1994: now we'll be lucky if
we make it by 2010. On the other hand, when Prelude to Space was published
in 1951, I thought I was being wildly optimistic by suggesting a moon
mission in 1978. Neil and Buzz beat me by almost a decade.

Still, I take a modest pride in the fact that communications satellites are
placed exactly where I suggested in 1945, and that the name "Clarke Orbit"
is now often used, if only because it's easier to say than "geostationary
orbit." And the chapter "The Century Syndrome" in my 1990 novel The Ghost
from the Grand Banks, may well have been the first account, outside the
technical literature, of the now-dreaded Millennium Bug - its cause and its
cure.

Even so, the chronology that follows should be given with a "health
warning." Some of the events listed (particularly the space missions) are
already scheduled, and will occur on the actual dates given. I believe all
the other events could happen, although several, I hope, will not.

In spite of the temptation, I have omitted many interesting and
all-too-possible disasters, because optimism about the future is always
desirable; it may help to create a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Check me for accuracy - on December 31, 2100.

2001 Jan. 1 The next millennium and century begin.

- Cassini spaceprobe (launched October 1997; arrives Saturn July 2000)
begins exploration of the planet's moons and rings.

- Galileo probe (launched October 1989) continues surveying Jupiter and its
moons. Life beneath the ice-covered oceans of Europa appears increasingly
likely.

2002 The first commercial device producing clean, safe power by
low-temperature nuclear reactions goes on the market, heralding the end of
the Fossil-Fuel Age. Economic and geopolitical earthquakes follow, and, for
their discovery of so-called "Cold Fusion" in 1989, Pons and Fleischmann
receive the Nobel Prize for Physics.

2003 The motor industry is given five years to replace all fuel-burning
engines by the new energy device.

- NASA's robot Mars Surveyor (carrying Lander and Rover) is launched.

2004 The first (publicly admitted) human clone.

2005 The first sample launched back to Earth by Mars Surveyor.

- The Dalai Lama returns to Tibet.

2006 The world's last coal mine closed in India.

2007 NASA's Next Generation Space Telescope (successor to the Hubble)
launched.

- President Chandrika Kumaratunga gets the Nobel Prize for restoring peace
to Sri Lanka.

2008 On what would have been his 80th birthday, July 26, the film director
Stanley Kubrick, who made 2001: A Space Odyssey, posthumously receives a
special Oscar for Lifetime Achievement.

2009 A city in North Korea is devastated by the accidental explosion of an
A-bomb. After a brief debate in the U.N., all nuclear weapons are destroyed.

2010 The first Quantum Generators (tapping space energy) are developed.
Available in portable and household units from a few kilowatts upward, they
can produce electricity indefinitely. Central power stations close down;
the age of pylons ends as grid systems are dismantled.

- In spite of protests against "Big Brother" government, electronic
monitoring virtually removes professional criminals from society.

2011 Largest living animal filmed: a 75-meter octopus in the Mariana
Trench. By a curious coincidence, later that same year even larger marine
creatures are discovered when the first robot probes drill through the ice
of Europa, and an entire new biota is revealed.

2012 Aerospace-planes enter service. The history of space travel has
repeated that of aeronautics, although more slowly, because the technical
problems are so much greater. From Yuri Gagarin to commercial space flight
has taken twice as long as from the Wright Brothers to the DC-3.

2013 On a flight sponsored by Bandar Seri Begawan, a Brunei prince becomes
the first member of a royal family to fly in space.

2014 Construction of Hilton Orbiter Hotel begins, by assembling and
converting the giant Shuttle tanks which had previously been allowed to
fall back to Earth.

2015 An inevitable byproduct of the Quantum Generator is complete control
of matter at the atomic level. Thus the old dream of alchemy is realized on
a commercial scale, often with surprising results. Within a few years,
since they are more useful, lead and copper cost twice as much as gold.

2016 All existing currencies are abolished. The megawatt-hour becomes the
unit of exchange.

2017 December 16. On his 100th birthday, Sir Arthur Clarke is one of the
first guests in the Hilton Orbiter.

- China holds the first nationwide popular elections to its parliament.

2019 A major meteor impact occurs on the North Polar icecap. There is no
loss of human life, but the resulting tsunamis cause considerable damage
along the coasts of Greenland and Canada. The long-discussed Project
Spaceguard, to identify and deflect any potentially dangerous comets or
asteroids, is finally activated

2020 Artificial Intelligence (AI) reaches the human level. From now onward
there are two intelligent species on Planet Earth, one evolving far more
rapidly than biology would ever permit. Interstellar probes carrying AIs
are launched toward the nearer stars.

2021 The first humans land on Mars, and have some unpleasant surprises.

2023 Dinosaur facsimiles are cloned from computer-generated DNA. Disney's
Triassic Zoo opens in Florida. Despite some unfortunate initial accidents,
mini-raptors start replacing guard dogs.

2024 Infra-red signals are detected coming from the center of the Milky Way
Galaxy. They are obviously the product of a technologically advanced
civilization, but all attempts to decipher them fail.

2025 Neurological research finally leads to an understanding of all the
senses, and direct inputs become possible, bypassing eyes, ears, skin, etc.
The inevitable result is the metal "Braincap" of which the 20th century's
Walkman was a primitive precursor. Anyone wearing this helmet, fitting
tightly over the skull, can enter a whole universe of experience real or
imaginary - and even merge in real-time with other minds. Apart from its
use for entertainment and vicarious adventure, the Braincap is a boon to
doctors, who can now experience their patients symptoms (suitably
attenuated). It also revolutionizes the legal profession; deliberate lying
is impossible. As the Braincap can only function properly on a completely
bald head, wig-making becomes a major industry.

2026 Singapore becomes the world's first country to enforce Truth in
Advertising.

2036 China overtakes the U.S. in gross national product to become the
world's largest economy.

2040 The "Universal Replicator," based on nano-technology, is perfected:
any object, however complex, can be created - given the necessary raw
material and the appropriate information matrix. Diamonds or gourmet meals
can, literally, be made from dirt. As a result, agriculture and industry
are phased out, ending that recent invention in human history - work! There
is an explosion in arts, entertainment and education. Hunter-gathering
societies are deliberately recreated; huge areas of the planet, no longer
needed for food production, are allowed to revert to their original state.
Young people can now discharge their aggressive instincts by using
cross-bows to stalk big game, which is robotic and frequently dangerous.

2045 The totally self-contained, recycling, mobile home (envisaged almost a
century earlier by Buckminster Fuller) is perfected. Any additional carbon
needed for food synthesis is obtained by extracting carbon dioxide from the
atmosphere.

2047 Hong Kong celebrates its 50th year as an SAR by completely eliminating
border controls and barriers between itself and the rest of China.

2050 "Escape from Utopia." Bored by life in this peaceful and unexciting
era, millions decided to use cryonic suspension to emigrate into the future
in search of adventure. Vast "hibernacula" are established in the Antarctic
and in the regions of perpetual night at the lunar poles.

2051 Ground is broken on the moon for self-sustaining, robotized colonies,
where the elderly will survive longer, thanks to the low lunar gravity.

2057 October 4. Centennial of Sputnik 1. The dawn of the space age is
celebrated by humans not only on Earth, but on the Moon, Mars, Europa,
Ganymede and Titan - and in orbit round Venus, Neptune and Pluto.

2061 The return of Halley's Comet; first landing on nucleus by humans. The
sensational discovery of both dormant and active lifeforms vindicates Hoyle
and Wickramasinghe's century-old hypothesis that life is omnipresent
throughout space.

2090 Large-scale burning of fossil fuels is resumed to replace the carbon
dioxide "mined" from the air and postpone the next Ice Age by promoting
global warming.

2095 The development of a true "space drive" - a propulsion system reacting
against the structure of space time - makes the rocket obsolete and permits
velocities close to that of light. The first human explorers set off to
nearby star systems that robot probes have already found promising.

2100 History begins...

Clarke is a futurist and science fiction writer. Copyright Arthur C. Clarke
1999

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8/10/99 -- Research Release: 'USAAF' UFO Research Pre-1947

On a recent research trip to Dayton, Ohio, Wendy Connors and
Mike Hall recovered some new information that directly impacts
the historical record of Ufology. This information comes from a
very knowledgable and inside source to the inner workings of
Project's SIGN, Grudge and Blue Book. This source desires to
remain unnamed at this point in time and both Mike and I will
certainly honor his desires. No discussion as to who the source
might be will be entertained by us. This source did, however,
work directly with the people comprising SIGN, Grudge and Blue
Book for many years and was not only friends, but part of a good
old boy's network within T-2.

The following information is shared with all of our fellow
researchers:

Prior to 1947, in the fall and winter months of 1946, not only
was the Navy deeply investigating the Ghost Rocket phenomena in
the Baltic, but many sightings of disc-like craft were being
reported by military pilots at this same time. Some sightings
were in the Pacific areas as well as over the United States.
Many of these cases are still unknown to the ufological
community.

In late 1946, Colonel Howard McCoy, Colonel Miles Goll and two
other officers within T-2 Intelligence set up a Top Secret
office away from T-2 proper to begin looking into the flying
discs being reported. At this time such an investigation was
beyond the scope of T-2 and no authorization had been given for
such an investigation. Although the office was used as a base of
operations for analysis of these military sightings, it was not
official, nor had Air Force Intelligence (A2 or AFOIN) sanction
to do so.

By the time of the Kenneth Arnold and other early 1947 cases, A2
decided to begin investigation of the flying discs. Word was
passed down through Gen. Carl T. Spaatz that AFOIN should begin
looking into the situation. Word had leaked out to Gen. George
McDonald that several officers at T-2 had already begun looking
into some of the reports. In order to prevent the upper
eschelons from learning that this unofficial investigation had
already begun over seven months earlier, and time and money had
been used, a paper trail was needed to cover the fact that this
unauthorized investigation had begun without approval. This was
accomplished quickly by T-2 sending requests to AFOIN (A2) for
all prior reports of disc sightings by the military as well as
the Ghost Rocket investigations that had been in progress for
almost a year.

In order to further cover and make the previous unauthorized
investigations legitimate, Gen. Nathan Twining complied with an
emergency request from Gen. McDonald, through Gen. Schulgen that
an opinion be written regarding the flying discs. This was
unique, because at the time of the Twining Memo, T-2 was not
answerable to AMC. T-2 was solely stationed at Wright Field due
to the fact that much of the support elements T-2 needed were
all ready in place at Dayton. After June 14, 1947, T-2 was only
an administrative area for AMC. The officers comprising T-2
answered only to A2 (AFOIN) and not through the chain of command
at AMC. The Twining memo was definitely for real, but it was
produced under different circumstances than was previously
believed.

Capt. Edward J. Ruppelt, in his book, "The Report on
Unidentified Flying Objects" had stated that although the
investigations of flying discs had begun by August 1947, it was
not an official investigation. This new information validates
Ruppelt, but Ruppelt was not privy to the fact that the flying
disc investigations began almost 10 months earlier. There has
always been a question about Ruppelt's acumen regarding the
beginning point of the flying disc investigation and now it
seems imperative that Ruppelt's work be more closely examined
and analyized. Fran Ridge is already hard at work regarding this
aspect.

This new information has caused much excitement between Mike and
myself. We have enough documentation gathered to show that this
new information is valid and will be shared in its entirety in
the coming months. However, our research is still on-going and
other important elements regarding the early investigations and
people involved have been recovered and continuing to be
recovered. This information will also be passed on to the list
members at the appropriate time. We are still evaluating all the
new information.

One further note to share with interested list members. Our
source was an extremely close friend and associate with Col.
Harold Watson. He confirms that Col. Watson was still heading
ATIC during October, 1951 and Col. Dunn was working closely with
Col. Watson.

Both Mike and I hope this new information will be of benefit to
our fellow researchers.

Wendy Connors and Michael Hall
Project SIGN and Project Blue Book Research Centers
www.projectsign.com

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8/7/99 - French UFO Report, COMETA
Hello to all List members

Here is my summary of the French COMETA report, free for
copy and publishing, provided its contents are respected.

Best regards,
Gildas Bourdais

The French Report on UFOs and Defence: a short presentation
by Gildas Bourdais

It must be stressed here that this is an independant report,
written by a private association called COMETA. It is summarized
here with the approval of the authors.

To translate and publish the report itself, in part or in its
integrality, permission should be asked by writing to the
administrator of the association COMETA, Mr Michel Algrin, 25,
boulevard Saint-Germain, 75005 Paris, France.



On Friday 16 of July 1999 was published in France an outstanding
document, called "UFOs and Defence. What must we be prepared for
?" ("Les OVNI et la Défense. A quoi doit-on se préparer?") This
ninety pages report is the result of an in depth study of UFOs,
covering many aspects of the subject, especially questions of
defence.

The study was carried out during several years by an independant
group of former "auditors" at the very serious Institute of
Higher Studies for National Defence, or IHEDN ("Institut des
hautes études de défense nationale"), and of qualified experts
from various fields. Before its public release, it has been sent
to French President of the Republic Jacques Chirac, and to Prime
minister Lionel Jospin.


This Report is prefaced by General Bernard Norlain, of the Air
Force, former Director of IHEDN, and it begins with a preamble
by André Lebeau, former President of the National Center for
Space Studies ("Centre national d'études spatiales", CNES),the
French equivalent of NASA.

The group itself, collective author of the report, is an
association of experts, many of whom are or have been auditors
of IHEDN, and it is presided over by General Denis Letty, of the
Air Force, former auditor(FA) of IHEDN. Its name "COMETA" stands
for "Committee for in depth studies".

A non exhaustive list of members is given at the beginning, and
it is impressive enough. It includes:

General Bruno Lemoine, of the Air Force (FA of IHEDN), Admiral
Marc Merlo (FA of IHEDN). Michel Algrin, Doctor in Political
Sciences, attorney at law (FA of IHEDN), General Pierre Bescond,
engineer for armaments (FA of IHEDN), Denis Blancher, Chief
National Police superintendant at the Ministry ot the Interior,
Christian Marchal, chief engineer of the national "corps des
Mines", Research Director at the "National Office of
Aeronautical Research" (ONERA), General Alain Orszag, Phd in
physics, engineer for armaments.

The committee also expresses its gratitude to outside
contributors, among whom:

Jean-Jacques Vélasco, head of SEPRA at CNES, François Louange,
President of Fleximage, specialist of photo analysis, General
Joseph Domange, of the Air Force, general delegate of the
Association of auditors at IHEDN.


General Norlain tells in a short preface how this committee was
created. General Letty came to see him in March 1995, when he
was Director of IHEDN, to discuss his project of committee on
UFOs. Norlain assured him of his interest and addressed him to
the Association of Auditors (AA) of IHEDN, which in turn gave
him its support.

It is interesting to recall here that, twenty years ago, it was
a report of that same Association which led to the creation of
GEPAN, the first unit for UFO study, at CNES.

As a result, several members of the committee come from the
Association of Auditors of IHEDN,joined by other experts. Most
of them hold, or have held, important functions in defence,
industry, teaching, research,or various central administrations.
General Norlain expresses hope that this report will help
develop new efforts nationally, and an indispensable
international cooperation.

General Letty, as president of COMETA, points to the main theme
of the report, which is that the accumulation of well documented
observations compells us now to consider all hypotheses as to
the origin of UFOs, especially extraterrestrial hypotheses.

The committee then presents the contents of the study: In a
first part, presentation of some remarkable cases, both French
and foreign; In a second part, they describe the present
organization of research in France and abroad, and studies made
by scientists worldwide which may bring partial explanations, in
accordance with known laws of physics. The main global
explanations are then reviewed, from secret crafts to
extraterrestrial manifestations; In a third part, will be
examined measures to be taken regarding defence, from
information of pilots, both civilian and military, to strategic,
political and religious consequences, should the
extraterrestrial hypothesis be confirmed.


Part I: "Facts and Testimonies"

Many of the cases selected are well known by most researchers,
and need only to be mentioned here. They are:

-Testimonies of French pilots. M. Giraud, pilot of MirageIV
(1977); Colonel Bosc, fighter pilot (1976); Air France flight
AF 3532 (jan 1994).

-Aeronautical cases world wide. Lakenheath (1956); RB-47 (1957)
; Teheran (1976); Russia (1990); San Carlos de Bariloche
(Argentina, 1995).

-Observations from the ground. Tananarive (1954); observation
of a saucer near the ground by a French pilot, J.-P. Fartek
(1979); observation at close range over a Russian missile site,
by several witnesses (1989).

-Close encounters in France. Valensole (Maurice Masse, 1965);
Cussac, Cantal (1967); Trans-en-Provence (1981); Nancy
(so called case of the "Amaranth" 1982).

-Counter-exemples of elucidated phenomena (two cases).

Although the selection is limited, it seems to be sufficient to
convince an uninformed but open minded reader of the reality of
UFOs.


Part II: "The Present State of Knowledge"

The second part, entitled "the present state of knowledge" ("Le
point des connaissances"), begins with a survey of the
organization of the official UFO research in France, from the
first intructions given to the "gendarmerie" in 1974 for the
redaction of reports, to the creation of GEPAN in 1977, its
organization and its results: collection of more than 3,000
reports from the gendarmerie, cases studies, statistical
analyses. It then surveys agreements passed by GEPAN and, later,
SEPRA, with the air force and the army, the civilian aviation
and other organs, such as civilian and military laboratories for
the analysis of samples, and photographies.

Regarding the methods and results, we are reminded of some
famous cases (Trans-en-Provence, l'Amarante), and emphasis is
made on the the catalogues of cases, notably of pilots
(Weinstein catalogue), and "radar/visual", world wide. A
historical note appears here with a quotation of the famous
letter of General Twining, of september 1947, asserting already
to the reality of UFOs.

The following chapter, called "hypotheses and attempts at
modeling" ("OVNI: hypothèses,essais de modélisation") discusses
some models and hypotheses which are under study in several
countries.

Partial simulations have already been made for UFO propulsion,
based on observations of aspects such as: speed, movements and
accelerations, engine failure of nearby vehicles, paralysis of
witnesses.

One model is MHD propulsion, already tested successfully in
water, and wich might be achieved in the atmosphere with
superconducting circuits, in a few decades. Other studies are
briefly mentioned, regarding both atmospheric and space
propulsion, such as particle beams, antigravity, reliance on
planetary and stellar impulsion.

The failure of land vehicle engines may be explained by
microwave radiations. In fact, high power hyperfrequency
generators are under study in France and other countries. One
application is micro wave weapons. Particle beams, for instance
proton beams, which ionize the air and become therefore visible,
might explain the observation of truncated luminous beams. Micro
waves might explain body paralysis.

In the same chapter are next studied "global hypotheses". Hoaxes
are rare and easily detected. Some non-scientific are put aside,
such as conspiration and manipulation by very secret, powerful
groups, parapsychic phenomena, collective hallucinations. The
hypothesis of secret weapons is also regarded as very
improbable, the same as "intoxication" at the time of the cold
war, or just natural phenomena.

We are then left with various extraterestrial hypotheses. One
version has been developed in France by astronomers Jean-Claude
Ribes and Guy Monnet, based on the concept of "space islands" of
American physicist O'Neill, and it is compatible with present
day physics.

The organization of UFO research in the United States,
Great Britain and Russia, is surveyed rapidly.

In the United States, the media and the polls show a marked
interest and concern of the public, but the official position,
especially of the Air Force, is still one of denial, more
precisely that there is no threat to national security.
Actually, declassified documents, released under FOIA, show
another story, one of surveillance of nuclear installations by
UFOs, and the continued study of UFOs by the military and
intelligence agencies.

The report stresses the importance, in the United States, of
private, independant associations. It mentions the "Briefing
Document. Best available evidence" sent in 1995 to a thousand
personalities worldwide, and the Sturrock workshop in 1997, both
sponsored by Laurance Rockefeller. The "Briefing Document" has
obviously been welcomed by the authors of the COMETA report. The
committee also notes the public emergence of alleged insiders
such as Colonel Philip Corso, and considers that his testimony
may be partly significant as to the real situation in that
country, in spite of many critics.

The report describes briefly the situation in Great Britain,
with a special mention for Nick Pope, and poses the question of
the possible existence of secret studies pursued jointly with
American services. It mentions as well research in Russia, and
the release of some information, notably by the KGB in 1991.


Part III: UFOs and Defence

The third part, "UFOs and Defence" ("Les OVNI et la défense"),
states that, if it is true that no hostile action has been
proved yet, at least some actions of "intimidation" have been
recorded in France (case of of the Mirage IV for instance).
Since the extraterrestrial origin of UFOs cannot be ruled out,
it is therefore necessary to study the consequences of that
hypothesis at the strategic level, but also political, religious
and media/public information levels.

The first chapter ofPart III is devoted to prospective
strategies ("Prospectives stratégiques") and it begins with
fundamental questions: "What if extraterrestrials? What
intentions and what strategy can we deduce from their behavior
?"

Such questions open a more controversial part of the report.
Possible motivations of extraterrestrial visitors are explored
here, such as protection of planet Earth against the dangers of
nuclear war, suggested for instance by repeated flying over
nuclear missile sites.

The committee then ponders the possible repercussion on the
behavior, official or not, of different states, and focuses on
the possibility of secret, privileged contacts which might be
"attributed to the United States". The attitude of the U.S. is
seen as "most strange" since the 1947 wave and the Roswell
event. Since that time, a policy of increasing secrecy seems to
have been applied, which might be explained by the protection at
all cost of military technological superiority to be acquired
from the study of UFOs.

Next, the report tackles the question: "What measures must we
take now?" At the least, whatever the nature of UFOs, they
impose "critical vigilance", in particular regarding the risk
of "destabilizing manipulations". A kind of "cosmic vigilance"
should be applied by the elites, nationally and internationally,
in order to prevent any shocking surprise, erroneous
interpretation and hostile manipulation.

Nationally, COMETA urges the strenghening of SEPRA, and
recommends the creation of a cell at the highest level of
government, entrusted with the development of hypotheses,
strategy, and preparation of cooperation agreements with
European and other foreign countries. A further step would be
that European states and the European Union undertake diplomatic
action toward the Unites States within the framework of
political and strategic alliances.

A key question of the report is "What situations must we be
prepared for?". It mentions such situations as: extraterrestrial
move for official contact; discovery of a UFO/alien base on the
territory or in Europe; invasion (deemed improbable) and
localised or massive attack; manipulation or deliberate
disinformation aiming at destabilizing other states.

COMETA devotes special attention to "aeronautical implications",
with detailed recommendations aimed at various personnels, such
as air staffs, controllers, weathermen and engineers. It also
makes recommendations at the scientific and technical levels,
aimed at developping research, with potential benefits for
defence and industry.

The report further explores the political and religious
implications of UFOs, using as a model the perspective of our
own exploration of space: how would we do it, how would we
handle contacts with less advanced civilizations?

Such an approach is not new to the well informed readers of the
abundant ufological literature, but it has a special value here,
being treated seriously at such a level. The media/publicity
implications are not forgotten, with the problems of
disinformation, fear of ridicule, and manipulation by certain
groups.

In its conclusion, COMETA claims that the physical reality of
UFOs, under control of intelligent beings, is "quasi certain".
Only one hypothesis takes into account the available data: the
hypothesis of extraterrestrial visitors. This hypothesis is of
course unproved, but has far-reaching consequences. The goals of
these alleged visitors remain unknown but must be the subject of
speculations and prospective scenarios.

In its final recommendations, it stresses again the need to:

1) inform all decision-makers and persons in position of
responsibility;

2) reinforce means of investigation and study at SEPRA;

3) have UFO detection taken into account by agencies engaged
in of space surveillance;

4) create a strategic cell at the highest state level;

5) undertake diplomatic action toward the Unites States
for cooperation on this "capital question";

6) study measures which might be necessary in case of
emergencies.


Finally, this document is accompanied by seven
interesting annexes which are worth reading even
by seasoned ufologists:

-1 Radar detection in France

-2 Observations by astronomers

-3 Life in the Universe

-4 Colonization of space

-5 The Roswell case - The disinformation (an interesting text
which will be criticized by some readers, and welcomed by
others, including myself)

-6 Antiquity of the UFO phenomenon. Elements for a chronology.

-7 Reflexionn on various psychological, sociological and
political aspects ot the UFO phenomenon.

The importance of this report should not be missed by all
informed ufologists around the world, considering not only its
contents but the personality of its authors, and in spite of
critics which may be addressed to it.

In fact, some sharp critics have been made soon after the
release of the report, on the Internet, and in the French press
with an article by sociologist Pierre Lagrange curiously
denouncing an operation of disinformation by way of ridiculing
the subject ("Libération of July 21, 1999). Let's hope that the
present summary will help clarify the debate.

Gildas Bourdais

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5/16/99
SPECIAL REPORT: STATUS OF THE UFO CONTROVERSY

By Michael Lindemann
Editor, CNI News

By most accounts, recent months have seen a slow-down in UFO reports around
the world. Assuming this is true, it is no cause for surprise. UFO reports
have come in waves since civilian reporting became common in the late 1940s.
If the pattern of five previous decades holds, there will be a renewed surge
of UFO activity in the fairly near future.

Meanwhile, UFO research and controversy continue unabated. Though new cases
still occur on a regular basis, much current research is focused on
historical review of prominent cases or related documents.

For people not acquainted with the history of UFO research, it might seem
that UFO claims are built mostly upon flimsy, data-poor cases, unreliable
witnesses or bad investigation. While it is true that the majority of
reported UFO sightings are so-called "lights in the sky," offering little
that can be studied after the fact, the bedrock of the UFO controversy is a
constellation of cases that are rich in data, supported by credible
testimony, often accompanied by physical evidence including radar returns,
photos and ground traces, and seem inexplicable in terms of known events or
phenomena.

The fact that UFO claims are grounded in substantial data and serious
research is the primary reason that headway has been made against decades of
mainstream ignorance, indifference, denial and debunkery. It is the reason,
in the view of CNI News, that progress is actually accelerating today -- the
reason more and more thinking people, including scientists and members of the
mainstream press, are recognizing the validity and importance of UFO
phenomena.

The Roswell incident of 1947 epitomizes the ongoing pursuit of historical UFO
events. As reported many times in past issues of CNI News, a number of
researchers continue to uncover new leads and new witnesses. Despite four
separate attempts by the U.S. Air Force and innumerable attempts by debunkers
and skeptical UFO researchers alike to dismiss the Roswell case, it remains
as unresolved and rich in possibilities today as it has ever been.

But the Roswell incident -- whatever it was -- occurred in a year that saw an
explosion of other well-attested UFO events as well. Researcher Jan Aldrich
and others are focussing attention on the period of the late 1940s,
attempting to understand why those particular years saw such an astonishing
concentration of significant UFO events, especially in the United States.
Like Roswell, many UFO events of the late 1940s involved military personnel,
and many others involved civilian airline pilots.

A UFO incident sometimes called the British Roswell occurred in late
December, 1980, over the twin air bases RAF Bentwaters and RAF Woodbridge,
and the Rendlesham Forest separating them. Like Roswell, this case remains
the focus of ongoing investigation almost 20 years after the fact. As
reported in the April 16, 1999 edition of CNI News, British researcher James
Easton recently located a new witness to the Bentwaters/Woodbridge UFO
incident who confirms many details also attested by other credible witnesses,
and adds a startling new detail: he says he clearly viewed three triangular
UFOs through binoculars from a watchtower on the base. Like Roswell, this
case remains a provocative mystery.

Similarly provocative is a case that occurred on January 20, 1996 in the
southern Brazilian city of Varginha. Brazilian ufologists have reconstructed
an astonishing series of events involving the sighting and capture of several
bizarre creatures, apparently unlike any known species on Earth. It is
possible, though not certain, that these strange humanoid creatures were
connected to UFO sightings in the area. Better supported by multiple
witnesses is the allegation that at least one creature was taken by police or
military authorities to a hospital, where it was examined and probably died.
One police officer involved in this case is known to have died shortly after
exposure to one of the creatures, but his family was unable to learn the
cause of his death.

Lead civilian investigator of the Varginha case is Vitorio Pacaccini, who has
personally interviewed dozens of witnesses and tracked down several
"reluctant" witnesses who may have important evidence in the case. What is
clear, Pacaccini says, is that these reluctant witnesses -- who were
evidently involved in the original investigation -- are now very afraid.

Another important aspect of the ongoing UFO controversy is the investigation
of alleged official documents. As previously reported in CNI News (most
recently on April 1, 1999), a group of documents alleged to originate from a
super-secret organization called Majestic 12 (MJ-12) has aroused heated
debate among leading researchers. If these documents could be proven
authentic, they would establish the existence of a long-running official
project to investigate extraterrestrial activities on Earth. But their
authenticity is doubted by many.

The first of these documents, called the Eisenhower Briefing Document (EBD),
became public in 1987 and has been controversial ever since. Leading Roswell
expert Stanton Friedman has strongly argued for its authenticity. Other
leading ufologists, notably Kevin Randle, have argued against it.

Since the mid-1990s, more than a dozen other alleged MJ-12 documents have
come to light. The largest of these, called the Special Operations Manual
1-01 (SOM 1-01), was sent as undeveloped film to researcher Don Berliner, who
passed it to several other researchers for investigation. Berliner now says
he considers SOM 1-01 to be fake, and he is joined in this opinion by other
well-known researchers including Jan Aldrich, Mark Rodeghier, Tom Deuley and
Richard Hall. But Stanton Friedman, along with investigators Robert and Ryan
Wood, says SOM 1-01 is very likely authentic. So too, according to Ryan Wood,
does a document specialist affiliated with the U.S. intelligence community,
who has been anonymously assisting the Woods in their research. But this same
intelligence expert says the Eisenhower Briefing Document is disinformation.

The controversy over these documents exemplifies a troubling theme of
contemporary ufology. There have been a number of sensational disclosures in
recent years that, if true, would be Earth-shattering in their implications.
For that reason, these cases have drawn enormous attention and consumed
inordinate amounts of ufology's limited resources. High on the list of these
grand but dubious cases is the infamous Santilli "alien autopsy" film -- now
judged by most researchers (but not all) to be a clever hoax. More recently,
a similar controversy broke out over a video from Mexico City showing a
classic flying saucer in broad daylight. In this case, lead researcher Jaime
Maussan says ground witnesses positively affirm that the sighting was real.
But expert video analysts -- notably MUFON's Jeff Sainio -- say the footage
is fake.

Lamentably, UFO hoaxes seem to be more numerous today than ever before. Some
of the most glaring infractions have been perpetrated by mainstream
television producers.

In January 1998, the UPN network aired "Alien Abduction: Incident in Lake
County," purporting to show the terrifying abduction of a Minnesota family
allegedly caught on home video. Though many viewers easily recognized the
video as a hoax (credits at the end gave it away, if nothing else), countless
other people mistook the show for a genuine documentary. Nowhere in the
program did UPN directly admit to a hoax or spoof; nor did the network
respond to a huge outcry of public indignation after the show aired.

Similarly troubling was a TNT network program in September 1998 titled "The
Secret KGB UFO Files." The centerpiece of this show was alleged official
Soviet footage of a UFO crash recovery and a related alien autopsy. Much
evidence was presented to support the general impression that these events
were real. It later came to light that the UFO crash and autopsy footage were
almost certainly hoaxed. It is not clear that TNT executives knew this when
the show aired; but the independent producers of the special probably did.

Despite the proliferation of hoaxes, profoundly impressive UFO cases continue
to emerge as well. Some -- like the Sao Paulo "orb" case reviewed in CNI News
on May 1, 1999 -- are based on reliable video footage and supported by
numerous witnesses. Another important recent case was an all-night police
chase of UFOs in northeast Ohio, documented on 911 dispatch audiotape (see
CNI News of June 16, 1998). And cases involving large, silent-running
triangular UFOs are becoming almost too numerous to mention. Last August, for
example, a series of triangle UFO sightings in northern France was attested
by hundreds of eyewitnesses and brought to mind a similar sensational
sequence of events over Belgium in 1989-90 (see CNI News, Aug 16 and Sep 1,
1998).

Though mainstream media have treated UFOs poorly for decades, CNI News
observes a gradual positive shift. Recent television programs -- for example,
a week-long series of UFO documentaries aired on the Learning Channel (TLC)
in late February, 1999, and the NBC prime-time special "Confirmation" in the
same month -- have been uneven in quality but relatively earnest and
supportive in tone. The same trend can be seen in print. For example, the
staid "Readers Digest" is running a well-researched, no-nonsense UFO article
in its current edition. The author of this piece even brings to light a
hitherto obscure case from Florida, involving a policeman's encounter with a
UFO (see part 1 of this CNI News).

Certainly adding to the potential credibility of UFO claims is the growing
recognition in scientific circles of two important ideas: first, that
extraterrestrial life is likely to exist, and second, that humans are
becoming capable of many technological feats attributed to UFOs.

Any day now, if SETI astronomers get their wish, the people of Earth will
hear direct evidence of another intelligent civilization in space. While many
researchers both inside and outside the UFO community think SETI is on the
wrong track, there is no denying that fact that a majority of mainstream
scientists now openly believe in the existence of extraterrestrial life. The
pursuit of life on other worlds has begun in earnest. Numerous projects
within NASA as well as space agencies of Europe, Japan and elswehere are
specifically aimed at exploring for life within our own solar system. It is
widely expected that evidence of some kind of life -- probably microbial,
possibly fossil -- will be found on Mars within the next one or two decades.
Equally promising is the prospect of life in the presumed salt-water ocean of
Jupiter's moon Europa.

Once the idea of ET life is accepted, the logical leap to UFOs as someone
else's spacecraft involves a technological assessment. Foolishly or not,
humans tend to judge what can be done by what humans can do. When humans
could not fly, flight was presumed impossible. Now, humans realize that
sending spacecraft into interstellar space is possible, because humans have
done it. It remains a matter of great controversy whether humans will find a
practical means to travel to other star systems, but that idea is no longer
considered taboo. It is the subject of active research by a growing number of
scientists, some working for NASA or the U.S. military, others at major
universities in the U.S. and abroad.

These scientists are exploring a wide range of ways to propel a spacecraft to
another star. Among the more exotic ideas are theoretical embodiments of
"warp drive" -- faster-than-light propulsion. Not many years ago, the very
idea was regarded as an inadmissible violation of Einstein's relativity
theory -- as if Einstein had written the laws of reality. Now, at least some
reputable physicists are convinced that "breaking the light-speed limit" is
at least permissible, even if technically improbable.

Meanwhile, other approaches to star travel seem more feasible, if a great
deal slower. It has been proposed that Earth's emissaries to the stars might
be semi-autonomous machines, which can neither die nor grow suicidally bored
during the century or more that must elapse before reaching another star. But
it is also possible, some theorists say, that humans will make such journeys
when propulsion systems are developed that can gradually accelerate to a
large fraction of light-speed -- a much more acceptable idea than "warp
drive."

In any star-travel scheme, energy is the primary issue. Whether traveling
fast or slow, almost unimaginable amounts of energy are needed to reach even
our nearest stellar neighbor, let alone more interesting destinations 10 or
20 light years away. But that energy -- however much is needed -- is
available in the very fabric of space itself, if only it can be tapped. So
called zero-point energy may indeed be the Holy Grail of the coming Space Age.

Thoughts like these, entertained by some of the world's foremost thinkers,
have as one result the gradual chipping away of resistance to the idea that
visitors from elsewhere are possible. If we can do it -- or think we might --
it seems only logical that some more advanced race may have done it already.

That said, most UFO researchers hasten to add that the presumption of alien
visitation is only one interpretation of the available evidence. UFOs are
unidentified flying objects, not alien spacecraft. But at the end of the day,
those same researchers, along with countless "experiencers" of the phenomena,
will admit that some fraction of UFO cases seem best explained as incursions
of non-human technology. Where such technology originates is simply unknown.
Acclaimed researcher Jacques Vallee, for example, disdains the notion of
extraterrestials, arguing that UFOs are stranger than that and may represent
trans-dimensional visitation of some kind. Other researchers suggest
time-traveling entities, perhaps Earthlings from the future. Still others
regard UFO phenomena as physical manifestations of psychical events.

Amid the cacophony of competing theories, however, the so-called
extraterrestrial hypothesis remains the most widely accepted, and it has
never made more sense than it does today. According to this theory, some
fraction of UFOs represent technology originating on another planet around
another star. And inside those technical devices -- at least sometimes -- are
presumed to be living intelligent beings. Extraterrestrials. Aliens.

Are "they" really here? If the answer were proven to be Yes, the humans of
Earth would be forced into a new paradigm of awareness and possibility -- and
perhaps perceived danger -- light-years beyond the simple assertion "We are
not alone." If "they" are here, then direct interaction with "them" is
available now, perhaps happening now. "They" could change our understanding
of reality almost too quickly for most of us to tolerate, much less enjoy.
And that very idea is often put forward as the reason we don't already know
"they" are here. In the more benign version of this theory, "they" are
protecting us from such disruptive awareness. In the more widely believed
version, "the government" -- or some ultra-secret faction thereof -- is
hiding this potentially catastrophic truth from the people.

Are "they" really here? Certainly a great many "experiencers" are sure of it.
Famed abductee Travis Walton, for example, remains convinced after nearly 25
years that he saw aliens during his 1975 experience aboard a UFO. No amount
of public doubt or derision can persuade him to change his story. Similarly,
policeman Lonnie Zamora remains convinced that he saw two "little men" get
into a landed UFO and fly away in broad daylight near Socorro, New Mexico, in
1964. Zamoro and Walton are just two of countless credible witnesses who
attest to apparently humanoid visitors in UFOs.

Can it be true? And if so, could it be kept secret? Those are the two driving
questions in the endless controversy concerning the "UFO cover-up." Famed UFO
researcher Stanton Friedman epitomizes those who insist that the answer to
both questions is definitely yes. Others aren't so sure -- but more are
joining Friedman's ranks every day. One example is lunar astronaut Edgar
Mitchell, who has become a vocal supporter of UFO claims and a strident
critic of official UFO secrecy.

The movement to "uncover the cover-up" is gaining force. Physician Steven
Greer, founding director of the Center for the Study of Extraterrestrial
Intelligence (CSETI) has been a leader in pushing for government disclosure
of UFO evidence. Operation Right to Know has organized demonstrations in
Washington, DC and other cities, calling for official disclosure. Attorney
Peter Gersten of CAUS (Citizens Against UFO Secrecy) has filed a number of
lawsuits attempting to force official disclosure. One suit seeks information
relating to claims made by the late Col. Philip Corso in his 1997 book "The
Day After Roswell." More recently, UFO activist Larry Bryant, backed by the
Mutual UFO Network (MUFON), has launched a nationwide UFO Ballot Initiative,
seeking to create a referendum on UFO secrecy during the year 2000 elections.

As with everything else about UFOs, these efforts to "bust the cover-up" are
hugely controversial even among ufologists. Stanton Friedman, who for years
has derided the cover-up as a "Cosmic Watergate," nonetheless argues that
official UFO secrecy may have been the right thing, given its potentially
huge social implications. Though Friedman would prefer disclosure of some
aspects of the UFO situation, he says that some secrets are worth keeping
even now. Referring to possible technical marvels revealed in UFO wreckage,
Friedman says, "You can't tell your friends without telling your enemies."
Where national security or public welfare is legitimately at stake, he says,
the secrets should remain in place. And many others agree.

Thus, the forces acting upon the UFO controversy are complex and
contradictory. But there is simply no rational argument against the basic
premise that UFO evidence is sufficient to justify a serious scientific
investigation. That was more-or-less the opinion expressed by an
international scientific panel convened by the Society for Scientific
Exploration in October, 1997, to examine the merits of UFO claims. That panel
fell well-short of endorsing UFOs as someone else's technology, but they did
recognize that some UFO cases were at least scientifically puzzling and
perhaps indicative of hitherto unknown forces or events. Even so, this most
basic fact about UFOs has yet to be widely accepted by mainstream science.

But progress continues, nonetheless. Cases keep emerging, better research is
accomplished, mainstream media warm to the subject, and credible witnesses
who once feared exposure now risk telling all. It is also significant that,
every now and then, a person of great wealth elects to put serious money into
UFO related research. One such person is billionaire philanthropist Laurance
Rockefeller. Another is billionaire developer Robert Bigelow. And most
recently, millionaire entrepreneur Joseph Firmage has stepped boldly into the
fray. Firmage appears to have willingly sacrificed his standing among fellow
titans of Silicon Valley in order to pursue his vision, not only of
extraterrestrial contact, but of human social transformation as well (see
part 2 of this CNI News).

To the skeptical observer, it may seem that the UFO controversy persists
unchanged year after year, kept in place mainly by blind believers, fools and
charlatans. Nothing could be further from the truth. The controversy persists
because it is focused upon real events and phenomena that could topple many
long-cherished ideas of reality. It persists against the dogmatic resistance
of debunkers, the intolerance of science and the ignorance of mainstream
culture because a relatively small number of first-rate researchers, working
patiently over years and decades with extremely limited support, have built
an edifice of evidence that even skeptical science today cannot entirely
ignore. It persists because humans are gradually affirming the fundamental
premises upon which UFO claims are based: that extraterrestrial life does
exist, and that technology once thought impossible is possible after all.

In this light, it makes sense to expect that order and greater understanding
will come out of the UFO controversy in time. It will not resolve to nothing,
as skeptics have long predicted. On the contrary, it will finally resolve to
a new, startling, perhaps transformative understanding of life and reality --
one so astonishing in its implications that it may be regarded, in some
distant future, as the greatest discovery in human history.

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3/21/99 -- Firmage Launches ISSO
Hello friends,

The International Space Sciences Organization is scheduled to formally
launch its operations in May, 1999. As part of this launch, a completely new
web site will be opened at www.TheISSO.org. The new web site (free and open
to the public) will demonstrate the full breadth of initiatives ISSO has
planned and underway, including:

1 - A structured and organized publishing system for a new initiative called
"The Truth Files" -- a new public library of cutting edge rigorous research,
analysis, and speculation on extraterrestrial life, space exploration, UFO
phenomena, and advanced consciousness studies, from historical, scientific,
and theological perspectives.

2 - A comprehensive link and book reference library, and an organized
real-time threaded discussion system spanning the same subjects.

3 - An integrated radio broadcast schedule for "The Truth Files",
coordinated to run regularly both directly on the Internet and, within a
time slot of Jeff Rense's Sightings show dedicated to The Truth Files, on
syndicated national radio. Each program in the series will feature invited
guests representing the best of the best researchers in pursuit of the truth
at the cutting edge of thought. A wide range of diverse but well-grounded
opinions will be welcome, but only the most rigorously argued will be put on
air.

4 - Information about the summertime launch of a worldwide event tour
featuring a film produced by ISSO.

5 - A volunteer membership system which will begin to organize people around
the world who share the common desire to build a brighter future for
humanity and who have resources or talents to contribute to a better
understanding of the subjects studied at ISSO.

With this message we are opening our first semi-annual Invitation for Papers
for the "The Truth Files". We invite submissions from serious researchers of
cutting-edge discoveries relevant to history, new principles in science,
concepts of spirituality, and unusual phenomena in evidence.

The specifications for submissions are:

- Provide a one line title
- Include an abstract of up to 100 words
- Please try to limit to less than 100 pages in length
- Format your work as an Adobe Acrobat file
- The copyright remains with the author, though permission is granted to
ISSO post in "The Truth Files" library
- Submissions can be e-mailed to thekairos@yahoo.com
- Include contact information for follow-up

Evaluated by a review process conducted through a board of advisers, the top
10 papers will be featured as part of "The Truth Files", and each author
will be invited to address the public through a dedicated 3-hour ISSO radio
broadcast on the Internet and air waves. Each of these authors will also
receive a $1,000 honorarium from ISSO. ISSO will award the authors of the
top five papers an additional $5,000 each to be used to advance their
domains of research as they see fit. I consider this amount of money
symbolic of the importance, and not sufficient to be compensatory, of a
genuine attempt to communicate important knowledge to human beings around
the world.

The deadline for the first round of papers is May 1, 1999, and awards will
be announced on July 1, 1999. Each six months, this invitation will be
reissued, reviews conducted, papers posted, and awards granted.

Whatever your views may be, and regardless of whether you agree with me, I
respect you as equals, and I ask only truth. I hope you will join me in
supporting a new and genuine effort to promote a deeper understanding of the
remarkable times in which we live.

Best regards,

J O S E P H F I R M A G E
Founder & Chairman

==+++===+++===+++===+++===+++===+++===+++===+++===+++==

9/1/98 -- CNI
MILLION DOLLARS OFFERED FOR UFO OR PARTS THEREOF

Think you've got a hunk of a flying saucer? Well, it could be worth a million
dollars to you. According to information just received from Rob McConnell,
host of the "X-Zone" radio show , Henry DeCienzo, owner of the Flying Saucer
Restaurant in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada is offering a reward of one
millions dollars to anyone who can supply a flying saucer or pieces of one.
Submitted materials will be subjected to rigorous laboratory testing.

If you've got an artifact that you think will pass the test, contact Rob
McConnell c/o Newstalk 610 CKTB, 12 Yates Street, St. Catharines, Ontario,
Canada, L2R 6X7; phone (905) 984-6610 or email xzone@610cktb.com. All
information regarding submissions will remain confidential.

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July 27, 1998

See comments on this from Stan Friedman and others at the end.

Dave


NATO Meets E.T.
Name: Robert O. Dean, retired Army command sergeant major Claims:

Back in the Sixties, NATO issued a classified report stating
that UFOs were real, of extraterrestrial origin, and had
visited the earth. This extraordinary report was said to come
out of NATO's command center the Supreme Headquarters Allied
Powers, Europe (SHAPE), located then just outside of Paris, France.

Background: Dean, a highly decorated veteran, served on the
front lines in both Korea and Viet Nam. In 1963, while
assigned to the Supreme Headquarters Operataions Center (SHOC),
SHPAE's war room, headed up by then supreme allied commander of
Europe, General Lyman Lemnitzer, Dean claims he was able to
read the detailed 12 inch thick NATO reports on UFOs.

The Story: "SHAPE was one of those choice assignments. You had
to have a spotless record and pass security background checks.
I applied on a whim and got it. I was very proud and please.
At SHAPE, I was put through more security checks, given a
COSMIC TOP SECRET (yes this is a real term) clearance, the
highest NATO has, and assined to the SHOC (the NATO war room).
In those days, the activity would run hot and cold and much of
it would depend on how the Soviets wanted to play it. The most
intriguing thing to me was that we were continually having a
problem with large, metallic, circular objects that would
appear over central Europe; these were reported as visual
phenomena by our pilots and appeared on radar as well. Some
flew in formation, and most of the time we spotted them coming
out of the Soviet Union, over East Germany, West Germany,
France, and then they would often circle somewhere over the
English Channel and head north, disappearing from NATO radar
over the Norwegian Sea. These objects were very large, moving
very fast, at very high altitudes--higher than we could reach
at the time--and they seemed obviously under intellient control.

I was told this had been going on for some time and that in
February 1961 there had been quite a scare. Fifty of these
objects were spotted on radar and headed in formation from the
Soviet Union toward Europe, flying at about 100,000 feet. The
Soviets had closed all borders. Everybody went to red alert.
All hell broke loose. We really thought the War had started.
We scrambled. We knew the Russians were scrambling. It was the
largest number of these objects that had been seen. Fortunately--and
only by the grace of God--we didn't start bombing and neither did the
Russians. In nine minutes they were gone.

I was told that then Deputy Supreme Allied Commander of Europe,
Sir Thomas Pike, had been repeatedly requesting information
from London and Washington about these objects, but nothing
woold ever come. We found out later that the Columbine-Topaz
spy ring in Paris was intercepting everything and forwarding it
to the KGB, which often got intelligence information even
before we did. So Pike decided, I was told, to develop an in
house study to determine whether these objects were a military threat.

In the meantime, the UFO matter literally brought about the
establishment of direct communication between the East and West
in 1962, which I have always found interesting and ironic. We
had pretty well determined by that time that these were not Russian craft,
and the Russians had determined they were not ours. So, we came to an
understanding, and a direct telephone line was opened between SHOC
and the Warsaw Pact Headquarters Command. Of course, a setup was
always a possibility, so we had backup ways of checking out whether the
Russians were being truthful. But since we were both armed to the teeth
andWWIII was just ticking away, it was a logical step in the right direction.
That idea developed into the hotlinebetween the president of the US and
the soviet premier, following theCuban Missle Crisis.

Well, by the time I arrived in 1963, everybody had been talking
about the study and I had heard the rumours, seen the blips on
radar, witnessed the commotions and some of us occasionally
even talked about the possibilities. But nothing really
prepared me for what I started to read in the early morning
hours one night in January 1964.

It was about 2:00 a.m. and a relatively quiet night when the
SCHOC controller on duty went into the vault and came out with
this huge document. 'Take a look at this,' he said. The title
was simply: ASSESSMENT: AN EVALUATION OF A POSSIBLE MILITARY
THREAT TO ALLIED FORCES IN EUROPE. It wasnumbered, #3, stamped
COSMIC TOP SECRET, had eight inches worth of appendices, dozens
of photographs and had been signed into the vault by German
colonel Heinz Berger, SHOC's head of security: I quickly
learned that it was based on two and a half years
of research, was funded by NATO money, and that only 15 copies
were published -- in English, German, and French. Each one was
numbered. All were classified and ordered to be kept under
lock and key.

Every time I got the chance, from then until I left, I would
read a section or two in it. It was the most intriguing
document I'd ever read. It was put together by military
representatives of every NATO nation and also included
contributions from some of the greatest scientific minds.
These objects were violating all of our known laws of physics
and the study team had gone to Cambridge, Oxfor, the Sorbonne,
MIT and other major universities for input on chemistry,
physics, atmospheric physics, biology, history, [psychology,
and even theology, all of which were separate appendices.

I read about theories on Einstein's sought after unified field
theory, the high radiation at various landing sites and UFO
reports that dated back to the Roman era and up to our own F105
pilots' sightings and encounters, and on and on. I had always
been a skeptic, but this report, well...it concluded that this
stuff was not science fiction.

I read about contact encounnters. One incident that had just
happened in 1963 involved a landing on a Danish farm.
According to the report, the farmer went aboard with the two
little beings and two more human looking men who spoke to him
in Danish. The report included parts of his interrogation by
government authorities and their conclusions that he was
telling the truth. In another incident, according to the
reports, a craft landed on an Italian airfield and offered to
take an Italian sergeant for a ride. He wet his pants--that's
what it said--and was so scared, he didn't go.

The appendix that really got to me was titled 'Autopsies.' I
saw pictures of a 30 meter disc that had crashed in
Timmensdorfer, Germany, near the Baltic Sea in 1961. The
British Army, according to the report, got there first and put
up a perimeter. The craft had landed in very soft, loamy soil
near the Russian border and so hadn't destructed, but one third
of it was buried in. We and the Russians who also quickly
showed up had both tracked it.

Inside there were 12 small bodies. All dead. There were
pictures of the bodies, which looked like the beings known as
the 'grays,' being laid out and then put on stretchers and
loaded into jeeps, and autopsy photos, too. Some of the little
grays appeared to not be a reproductive capable species. The
autopsy guys concluded, according to the report, that it looked
as if they had been cut out of a cookie cutter -- clones with
no alimentary tract. They did not ingest or process food as we
know it, nor did it appear that they had any system for
elimination.

The craft itself was cut up like a pie into six pieces, put on
lowboys and hauled off. Scuttlebutt was that it was given to
the Americans and flown to Wright-Patterson Air Force base in
Ohio. I looked at these picture and couldn't believe it. My
skin got cold and I thought, My God. I had never really
believed we were all alone in the universe, but this was hard
to swallow.

The major conclusions in the NATO report blew me away. There
were five:

1) The planet and human race had been the subject of a detailed
survey of some kind by several different extra terrestrial
civilizations, four of which they had identified visually. One
race looked almost indistinguishable from us. Another
resembled humans in height, stature, and structure, but with a
very gray, pasty skin tone. The third race is now popularly
known as the grays and the fourth was described as reptilian,
with vertical pupils and lizard like skin.

2) These alien visitations had been going on for a very long
time, at least 200 years--perhaps longer.

3) The extraterrestirials did not appear hostile since if that
were their intent they would have already demonstrated their
malevolence.

4) UFO appearances and quick disappearances as well as the
flybys were demonstrations conducted on purpose to show us some
of their capabilities.

5) a process or program of some sort seemed to be underway
since flybys progressed to landings and eventually contact. I
wanted so badly to copy this thing. I did take a photograph
of the cover sheet, which wasn't in and of itself classified.
But I didn't want to wind up in Fort Leavenworth. So instead I
would go to the bathroom and take notes--surreptitiously, very carefully.

I have been through an awful lot in my life, but I've never been able
to just walk away from that report. I know that I'm taking a
chance by violating my oaths. But this is the most important
issue of our times--so damn important that I can't think of
anything more important, and the public has been deceived
and completely kept in the dark about all of this for all these years.
It's the biggest scientific political scandal ever.

Besides, what Have I got to lose? I'm 64 years old now.
Are they going to bump me off? I have told the truth and my
integrity and credibility stand. When is our government going
to tell the truth?"

===+++===+++===+++===

Date: Mon, 27 Jul 1998 16:37:19 -0300
From: "Stanton T. Friedman"
To: veterick@ix.netcom.com

Srtan wrote:
I have spent time with Bob and his wife at many conferences. Likable people. No
substatiation has ever been provided. Yes there is a Cosmic TP SECRET clearance.
But at best in my gray basket. The story has been around for a long while. STF.

7/28/98 Stan Wrote:
Bob is more likable, more dynamic, and more vocal besides being a lot younger.
He has often presented pictures that I consider frauds. He is almost evangelical
in his approach. so his message is more than merely an extaordinary document.
Confidentially I was told that (names deleted) were told that his NATO claims
didn't check out. Stan
===+++===+++===+++===+++===
7/28/98 A reply to a post I made to the Skywatch news list....Dave

I have been following SKYWATCH for a while now, quietly ... I will respond
here to your question because Bob Dean is a friend and someone with whom I
have spend considerable time in the past couple of years. I have seen him
weather great praise and attention ... as well as skepticism and negative
publicity. Both with equanimity.

HIs record is real and speaks for itself. He is always available to speak at
conferences and other gatherings (I believe he will be at the upcoming
Sedona conference). I am sure many of the people who subscribe to this
list have seen Bob speak. If you have questions or comments for him ...
he is always willing to talk and answer questions. If you find yourself
nearby one of his appearance, it will be an interesting experience for you
(or anyone) to stop in and parlay with him.

As far as my impressions ... he is sought after and looked to for authority
and for being straight from groups around the world. For further
information ... check out his web page at: http://www.stargate-intl.com/.

I will close by saying that I have seen him with his peers who are among the
top researchers in the world in the UFO/ET/military field. WIth few
exceptions, he is well loved and respected ... and his information is
constant and ... well ... check out his page, his lectures, his video tapes and
CD-ROMS... and judge for yourself.

With regards to all
L Germain
===+++===+++===+++===+++===+++===

Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1998 14:14:30 EDT
From: CNINews1@aol.com
To: veterick@ix.netcom.com

Dave,

I know Bob Dean well and I also know Salley Rayl, author of the 1994 OMNI
article.

His military record is well-documented. No doubt he did serve in the places he
says.

He's been interviewed so many times, it's boring to hear his story again (to
me, at least). I did hear it again, for the umpty-ninth time, at Roswell
earlier this month. Same story.

As for the "Assessment," that's one of those untouchable documents that, for
most of us, exists only in legend. I can't say if it's real or not, and I
don't know anyone who can. Bob insists it is, of course. Is he lying?
Delusional? Working for some dark force? Or simply telling it like it is? Who
knows? Not me.

ML

==+++===+++===+++===+++===+++===+++===+++===+++===+++==

August 1998
THE TRUTH ABOUT THE AVIARY !

This is the name of a supposed group of "ELITE" people in the "KNOW" about
UFO's. It's been bantered about on various UFO news lists for years. I typically
see this once a year where it's represented as some new info about this super
secret group.

I saw it again and was surprised to see a name listed of someone I know and
have the utmost respect for. I decided to ask him about this directly and his
reply follows. But first is a typical definition you may see of what "The Aviary"
is supposed to be.

Dave


Definition :

"Since sometime in the 1970's, a small group of individuals with extremely
high security clearances, who were working on various aspects of UFO
research and policy, began to interact unofficially on a regular basis to
pool information. Their objectives were to coordinate data, see the big
picture, analyze the meaning of UFOs and extraterrestrial contact with
Earth, use this knowledge to gain access to additional information on the
hyper secret Majestic-12 (MJ-12, the government's ultimate UFO-information
control and policy group) and gain special influence through their
collective power. This elite group of roughly a dozen individuals working on
national security assignments gave themselves code names, using mostly bird
names. Collectively, they came to be called the "aviary."


Date: Fri, 31 Jul 1998 00:04:50 -0400
From: bruce maccabee
To: veterick@ix.netcom.com"

Thanks for your letter.

The Aviary is a term invented some 15 or more years ago by Bill Moore and
Jaime Shandara to refer to their two main secret sources of information
whom they called "Condor and Falcon. Subsequently about 10 years ago
other people began to add people to the "aviary" regardless of whether or
not they provided information to Moore. I don't know who Falcon and
Condor were/are. There were two men who played the roles of F and C
in a TV show called UFO COVER UP-LIVE in October, 1988.

Mr. X, who is one of the real mentally challenged individuals in this
business has merely repeated what is on the web site of one guy who likes
to think of himself as the color blue (and has assigned a "heirarchy" to
UFO investigators). You can be part of teh aviary if you wish. Just
pick a bird name not used yet and spread it around. Pretty soon you will
find your bird name on the list of birdbrains.

Mr. X's description of me is brief but reasonably accurate. I certainly
have studied a lot of documents, including "leaked" and non-leaked
FOIPA documents.

I have written a book manuscript entitled THE UFO-FBI CONNECTION that
places the known-to-be-factual documents from th FBI and AIr Force
Intelligence and CIA into a historical order and context that proves US had
convincing evidence in th early 50's,

One problem with what Mr. B. has written, "author of and consultant
expert on selected "leaked" or disinformational UFO cases/topics."
is that this could be interpreted as meaning that I was an "author"
of disinformational UFO cases/topics. This is BS. There are some
people who have disagreed with my interpretation of some sighting
cases, but I have not generated "disinformation." In all the more than
100 papers I have written on the subject over the last 25 year, plus
the UFOS ARE REAL-HERE'S THE PROOF book and so on, I have
tried to maintain scientfic accuracy in reporting and analysis.

==+++===+++===+++===+++===+++===+++===+++===+++===+++==

July 16, 1998
UFO DATABASE PROFILES WORLD SIGHTINGS BY DECADE

[CNI News thanks George Filer for permission to adapt this article from
Filer's Files #27, dated July 9, 1998. For information on receiving Filer's
Files, email George at Majorstar@aol.com.]

Larry Hatch has developed one of the most complete UFO sighting databases
currently available. His latest update of the *U* Database now lists over
17,000 sightings from around the world. Each listing has a matrix of 64
"attributes," among which are different types of craft by general shape.

Among the listed shapes are "SCRs" for saucers, disks or spheres having some
visible size, as opposed to a "round" point of light. Next are "Cigars,"
connoting cigar-shaped, cylindrical or wingless fuselage-type craft. "Deltas"
connote triangular or boomerang craft. The occasional rectangle, square and
pentagonal geometries are included here as well; while hexagons and higher
regular polygons are included among the "saucers." Finally, "SUBs" are
submersibles -- anything entering or leaving bodies of water regardless of
shape.

Here are all sightings in Hatch's database, broken out by shape and decade of
sighting. (Note: a great deal of additional information on each sighting is
listed in the actual database.)

Dates SCRs Cigars Deltas Subs (totals)
BC to 1939 178 176 33 19 ( 431 )
1940-49 680 155 35 8 ( 939 )
1950-59 3,079 690 161 44 ( 4,066 )
1960-69 2,160 357 184 80 ( 2,997 )
1970-79 3,002 550 399 83 ( 4,273 )
1980-89 1,020 270 404 18 ( 1,752 )
1990-98 1,393 366 727 25 ( 2,707 )

ALL Years: 11,512 2,564 1,943 277 (17,166)

The high proportion of CIGARs prior to the 1940s are mainly due to the "great
airship" waves of 1896 through 1910, mainly in the USA, Britain and New
Zealand. Deltoids ("boomerangs," "black triangles," etc.) caught on in the
late 1970s and have figured prominently since. The 1980s were the virtual
doldrums in terms of overall numbers; and while the 1990s are "busier", they
are not much busier. Due to "overlap" where multiple shapes were reported,
figures will not add up from left to right.

Interested readers can download the DEMO version of UFO Hatch's database at: *UDEMO* Download

Or see his main Web site at: *U* UFO Database

==+++===+++===+++===+++===+++===+++===+++===+++===+++==


June 29, 1998
From: The Washington Post

Panel Urges Study Of UFO Reports Unexplained Phenomena Need
Scrutiny, Science Group Says

By Kathy Sawyer Washington Post Staff Writer Monday, June 29,
1998; Page A01

Some supposed UFO sightings have been accompanied by unexplained
physical evidence that deserves serious scientific study, an
international panel of scientists has concluded.

In the first independent scientific review of the controversial
topic in almost 30 years, directed by physicist Peter Sturrock
of Stanford University, the panel emphasized that it had found
no convincing evidence of extraterrestrial intelligence or any
violation of natural laws.

But the panel cited cases that included intriguing and
inexplicable details, such as burns to witnesses, radar
detections of mysterious objects, strange lights appearing
repeatedly in the skies over certain locales, aberrations in the
workings of automobiles, and radiation and other damage found in
vegetation.

The 50-page review, being released today, asserts that the
scientific community might learn something worthwhile if it can
overcome the fear of ridicule associated with the topic and get
some funding for targeted research to try to explain these
occurrences.

"It may be valuable to carefully evaluate UFO reports to extract
information about unusual phenomena currently unknown to
science," the report stated, adding that such research could
also improve understanding of, and in some cases debunk,
supposed UFO events.

For example, Earth science researchers have eventually accepted
several phenomena "originally dismissed as folk tales,"
including meteorites and certain types of lightning, the panel
noted.

The findings are from a four-day workshop held in Tarrytown,
N.Y., followed by a second three-day meeting in San Francisco,
both last fall. The results are published in the current issue
of the Society for Scientific Exploration, which was established
by Sturrock.

The inquiry involved scientists from the Massachusetts Institute
of Technology, Cornell and Princeton universities, the
universities of Arizona and Virginia, and institutions in France
and Germany, among others. A panel of nine physical scientists
analyzed presentations by eight UFO investigators, who were
encouraged to present their strongest evidence. The project was
funded by Laurance S. Rockefeller through his LSR Fund because
of a belief, the report said, that "the problem is in a very
unsatisfactory state of ignorance and confusion."

The panel suggests the scientific community has suffered a
failure of curiosity regarding UFOs. Despite an abundance of
reports over the last 50 years, "and despite great public
interest, the scientific community has shown remarkably little
interest in this topic."

Asked about the conclusions, a sampling of scientists and
officials outside the panel expressed surprise that a topic with
such a high "giggle factor" might be reincarnated for serious
study, possibly further blurring the lines between legitimate
research and the "lunatic fringe." Some said they would never
comment on the touchy topic, and some said they would reserve
judgment until they had read the report.

In a telephone interview, Sturrock said that he hopes at least
some scientists "will read the report and become curious. . . .
The challenge is to do good science on this issue. It's
difficult."

Some reported UFO incidents could have been caused by rare
natural phenomena, such as electrical activity high above
thunderstorms, or other known physical effects, the panel found.
But there were some phenomena they could not easily explain.

The existing evidence from past cases is unlikely to produce
either a solid debunking or other satisfactory explanation of
the reports, the panel found. But "new data, scientifically
acquired and analyzed (especially of well-documented, recurrent
events) could yield useful information," it said.

To be credible to the scientific community, future UFO
"evaluations must take place with a spirit of objectivity and a
willingness to evaluate rival hypotheses" that so far has been
lacking, the report said.

sparse, suggests microwave, infrared, visible and ultraviolet
radiation, although "a few cases seem to point toward high doses
of ionizing radiation, such as X-rays or gamma rays."

Radar detections of UFOs. Scientific study would require the
cooperation of military authorities. An example occurred in
January 1994, in the skies above Paris, when an airborne crew
saw "a gigantic disk" more than 3,000 feet in diameter. The disk
was detected on military radar for 50 seconds, slowed abruptly
from 110 knots to zero, then disappeared.

Semi-regular sightings of strange lights (such as those in
Hessdalen, Norway, and Marfa, Tex.), in some cases associated
with measured magnetic disturbances.

Apparent gravitational and/or inertial effects, as in a case
that occurred in Ohio in 1973. A number of witnesses, both on
the ground and in an Army Reserve helicopter, saw lights,
including a powerful green glow, and a "cigar-shaped gray
metallic object," during which time the helicopter ascended
although its controls were set for descent. Scientists
apparently failed to investigate the one item of physical
evidence -- a magnetic compass that had begun to spin during the
event and was subsequently removed because it was unserviceable.

Injuries to vegetation and other ground traces. In a 1981 case
in Trans-en-Provence, France, a witness reported an ovoid object
emiting a low whistle as it flew in for a landing. Police and
special UFO researchers found two concentric circles and other
traces that, when subjected to laboratory analysis, showed the
soil had been heavily compacted, though without major heating,
and there were symptoms of aging in the plants there. A
toxicologist concluded that some, though not all, of the effects
could have been caused by powerful microwave radiation.

The Sturrock group said that because of advances in knowledge
and technical capability, chances of significant learning are
greater now than 30 years ago when the Air Force and the CIA
supported a two-year investigation by the Colorado Project,
directed by Edward U. Condon. That 1968 report concluded that
"further extensive study of UFOs probably cannot be justified in
the expectation that science will be advanced."

The Air Force last year made public its latest report on the
infamous 1947 incident near the town of Roswell, N.M., which
gave rise to a whole flying-saucer culture of paranoia, up to
and including the fictional television program "The X-Files."
Titled "The Roswell Report: Case Closed," that report, like the
Sturrock panel, reiterated earlier conclusions that there is
no evidence of aliens or their spaceships.

© Copyright 1998 The Washington Post Company
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