Monday, May 18, 2015

Don Schmitt Back on Stage at MUFON PA

Don Schmitt's first public appearance since the Roswell Slides debacle and his apology for his role in it proceeded as scheduled, according to John Ventre of the Mutual UFO Network. Schmitt had been scheduled to speak at the May 16 Erie UFO Conference, backed by MUFON.

"Yes, Don spoke," Ventre, the state director of MUFON PA, replied in a May 18 email to a query about whether or not Schmitt appeared at the event. "He felt the need to explain the Roswell slide incident but the audience told him they weren’t too concerned with what happened and to just present the Roswell story. They appreciated his wanting to clear the air though."

An email was also sent to Don Schmitt offering him an opportunity to comment on the circumstances. He did not immediately respond.

Critics will no doubt question the value of research Schmitt and his slides colleagues have to offer, given their latest errors that, if their sincerity is to be believed, demonstrate them at best to be extremely biased investigators lacking objectivity and sound judgment. Some will feel it reasonable to be very skeptical of any information members of the slides team present, particularly more assertions absent conclusive verification. 

Meanwhile, beWITNESS promoter Jaime Maussan continued to champion the mummy depicted in the slides as an extraterrestrial being, recently taking to Twitter to offer a $10,000 reward to anyone who can produce the body. Outrage has been expressed about such actions and his ongoing rejection of the translation of the placard. He and the slide promoters have also been criticized for their general failure to address the numerous aspects of evidence that were promised to be revealed - but never presented - at the May 5 event in Mexico City.


His latest in a long line of grandstanding will no doubt fuel more animosity towards him, Adam Dew and Tom Carey, who continue to refuse to acknowledge the validity of the conclusive evidence published by the Roswell Slides Research Group which shattered their unsupported claims and arguably called motives into question. The skeptical group's findings were independently verified by multiple sources, including Frank Warren at 'The UFO Chronicles', who reported a lack of investigative cooperation from Adam Dew and Tom Carey in addition to confirmation the placard identified the corpse as a mummy.  

Richard Dolan appeared at the beWITNESS event, called the slides compelling and repeatedly vouched for the sincerity and research skills of the slides promoters. In the aftermath of the wheels coming off, Dolan emphatically stated the saga is over for him and suggested the community move on. 

While some UFO enthusiasts might choose to support Dolan's stance on the matter, others will question how a researcher such as he, that claims to be qualified to report on some of the most intricate and secret aspects of the global intelligence community, could have failed to accurately assess the slides fiasco as absurd from the start. Essentially, an argument could be made that it doesn't make much sense that Dolan couldn't figure out what virtually everyone else in ufology could surmise about the situation and the parties involved. 

Others, however, will likely not care, as long as they continue to get what they want from so-called ufologists, whatever that may be. For them and the ufologists, perhaps the show must simply go on.    

"His talk was very good," Ventre concluded about Schmitt's May 16 appearance.   

18 comments:

  1. > the audience told him they weren’t too concerned with what happened

    I would like to see some non-Ventrified reports of Schmitt's talk. But I am not surprised that the audiences for these things might not care about the May 5 fiasco. The UFO fandom is much more partisan than the investigators and bloggers.

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  2. Jack, we talked about this privately, and your post fairly summarizes our conversation. I don't know what's going on with Mr. Maussan, but question---at this point---his every utterance regarding the slides and halo of nonsense. Like many, many others, I just don't get it. Current psychological descriptions might classify this as panic-induced rigidity, akin to that of someone faced with personal trauma. Were I one of the ET proclaimers, I might very well be terrified of actionable litigation and consequences thereof.

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  3. Thanks for your comments and interest, gentlemen. Reasonable perspectives.

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  4. UFO believers get exactly what they deserve.

    Lance

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  5. I have also been bothered by Dolan's going along with this whole thing, but I think two things are worth noting. First, he is incredibly politic, and never utters a contrary word about anyone. Second, he has been saying for quite a while that volume three of his UFO history series is in the works; I suspect that he really just wanted a front row seat to this obvious slide fiasco, not just to witness the event but also the huxters' views as well as the reactions of the audience.

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  6. Schmitt the postal worker was exposed years ago. Maussan is beyond the pale.

    But, Dolan is the big loser in this hoax. His persona has been exposed as faux- intellectual. I'm sure he would love everyone to just forget that he endorsed those slides on that stage in Mexico City. And, for heavens sake, keep buying his books.

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  7. Gentlemen, the real damage continues to go largely unchecked, as Maussan is able to instill some "doubt" in the gullible minds of many sensationalist fans. What is the real damage?

    For anyone who believes there may be something unexplained about the Roswell incident, this charade is a gross insult to our inteligence. Evidence as to the impact on modern society from Roswell could perhaps be found in analyzing facts such as the exponential growth in the number of aerospace U.S. patents filed at the end of 1947 and onwards. That same year patents were applied for transistors, supersonic engines, the first space station design, etc. It is also noteworthy that the CIA was founded that very September 1947 by executive order. So, there may be something here that has now been thrown a bucket of cold water. But, most importantly and quite apart from Roswell is the fact that there is a very real phenomena observed in the sky, which perhaps hundreds of thousands of people have witnesses.

    What is the real UFO phenomena about? From many, incuding my own eyewitness experience, we gather that whatever craft is able to manouver, be it "orbs of light" or other craft, is not likely made by same advanced aerospace who struggle with internal combustion engines and fuel burning rockets of all sorts.

    There was a very strong and possibly successful movement for real institutional disclosure of the UFO phenomena by governments. Now, after this festival of lies, this "freak show" the pressure is off. Is think Kevin Randle said it best when he blogged that a 70 year effort to gather evidence and push for official disclosure had been derailed.

    I am also shocked at the fact several U.S and even Mexican Laws were most likely broken by the #beWitness hoaxsters. Including the murky circumstances of how the box was removed from a house under a Court ordered sale (all article removals required Court approval.) As well as many other State and Federal level Fraud laws. It is very likely that the #RoswellSlides promoter team, including SlideBox et al, grossed over US$5 million dollars, when you understand there were approximately 2.5 on-line paid viewers at $20 bucks each! So, despite the fact that I do not blame Mr. Schmit for his willful malintent, I do believe there is some reckoning to be done with Mr Maussan and those who are trying to jump on his ridiculous wagon.

    No Sirs, to me the UFO phenomena in the sky is absolutely undeniable, there are mountains of evidence and the most reputable and credible eyewitnesses to confirm it. Therefore, to vilify the entire field due to the greed, sensationalism and perhaps other darker "conspiracy" reasons is an affront and a wound upon everyone of us who has witnessed a UFO in the sky!

    "Do not go quietly into that good night, but rage, rage, against the dying of the light!"

    Floren Cabrera F. de Teresa

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  8. Floren Cabrera F. de Teresa said:

    ".....Evidence as to the impact on modern society from Roswell could perhaps be found in analyzing facts such as the exponential growth in the number of aerospace U.S. patents filed at the end of 1947 and onwards. That same year patents were applied for transistors, supersonic engines...."

    A number of the patents that made the transistor possible were filed with the U.S. Patent office in the early 1940's during the war. Research for a semiconductor replacement for the vacuum tube began at Bell Labs in the early 1930's and culminated with the first successful test of a transistor on December 16th, 1947. The history of the transistor is very well documented.

    Whatever happened at Roswell in 1947 had nothing to do with the transistor or any other technology we enjoy today - despite the popular mythos to the contrary.

    It's best to perform research outside of ufological circles if you are genuinely interested in the truth.

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    1. Well thanks for your comments, in that case there is nothing to the Roswell story other than as a "PsyOps" cover for advanced aircraft and delta wing types of designs. The HTV-2 Falcon surely looks a lot like a UFO. So, if you are sure there is nothing in the exponential number of new aircraft designs after 1947 the only other logical explanation would be transfer of the Penamunde technology back from Germany at the end of the war. What evidence is there at all about an alien event at Roswell? Do you have an explanation for why this "myth" if there was NO technological "spill-over" from such event? BTW filing patents before 1947 was not for the Cavendish Labs seminal operating transistor. So, not at clear cut as you make it sound. Lastly, I am confused as to your standing, since you say I should research "outside UFO" circles, that means you are within such "circle." So tell us, Mr Man in Black, why do you have anything to say about Roswelll anyway? What do you know?

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    2. Perhaps I should have been more specific as to my meaning regarding "technology". I was referring to the myth that's been around for many years that products like the transistor, integrated circuit, fiber optics & etc. all were back-engineered from the alien technology recovered at Roswell.

      I was trying to make the point that you should perform research outside of ufological circles because of the inheirent bias in the field toward the extraterrestrial. Instead, it's much better to keep an open mind and not rely on one source to provide all the answers.

      If you spend some time researching these technologies (transistor, integrated circuit, fiber optics etc.) you'll find that none of them occurred 'all of a sudden'. They were all the result of many years of research and experimentation.

      The scientists at Bell Labs knew even in the mid 1930's that a solid-state amplifer should be possible from their study of the new field of Quantum Mechanics. It is a well-documented fact that Bell Labs began looking at semiconductors as a possible replacement for the vacuum tube in the early 1930's. They developed a copper-oxide rectifier (Copper-oxide is a crude form of semiconductor) in the mid 1930's as a replacement for the vacuum tube rectifier. Research was contiued into the early 1940's however the lead scientists (William Shockley, Walter Brattain) were pulled away to other industries to do research for the war effort.

      During the war, while the scientists were away, the engineering staff at Bell Labs continued working on the research effort. One of the stumbling blocks to creating an amplifier using semiconductors was trying to find a method of doping germanium with just the right amount of impurities to give it suitable semiconducting characteristics. Several breakthroughs occurred in this research during the war and patents were filed on those breakthroughs - some in 1943 - well before the crash at Roswell.

      After the Bell Labs scientists returned to the labs following the war, Bell Labs increased research funding and staffing. They were able to quickly build upon the materials research and breakthroughs that had occurred during the war. Soon after, the first successful test of an amplifier using man-made semiconducting material took place. The first semiconducting amplifier was a crude device - it is known today as a point-contact transistor and was very unstable and essentially unusable. It took several more years of research before the Bipolar Junction Transistor (BJT) came into existence. The BJT is the most common transistor design in use today.

      I could give a similar synopses as above regarding the other technologies that were supposedly back-engineered from the Roswell crash. Integrated circuits, fiber optics - all of these technologies were the result of years of scientific research going back well before 1947.

      "So tell us, Mr Man in Black, why do you have anything to say about Roswelll(sic) anyway? What do you know?"

      I have over 40 years experience in the field of Electrical Engineering and Telecommunications, so I feel I have sufficient credentials to comment on this particular subject.

      Just to be clear, I think we would all do well to be careful to give credit where it is due. I have shown above that several of these technologies are wholly of earthly origin. In my opinion, these false myths within ufological circles that claim otherwise are malicious and malign the reputation of the very ingenious men and women that took part in their creation.

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  9. Jaime-wise, I can't help being amazed at a 'teflon-like' property some of these media figures display. Its like nothing sticks, no matter how sticky.

    I remember, early-mid 1990s telly - first seeing Maussan (shows like SIGHTINGS and ENCOUNTERS featured him). So passionate and unbearably earnest, his rap: "I can be wrong, but I cannot lie."

    Flash forward to James Carrion's interactions with him down in Mexico - where Maussan maneuvered with unbelievably manipulative cunning - to protect a UFO witness with digital 'saucer photos' - whose account of the incident proved deeply incompatible with technical data the photos revealed, under test. It was a typical crass hoax, run of the mill.

    The lengths to which Maussan went, with clear intent to obfuscate the facts Carrion uncovered - left no room for plausible deniability, as to his modus op.

    Maussan even brought in his own hired 'expert photo analyst' - to techno-babble at Carrion and crew - all the reasons their photo analysis was wrong. With sheer audacity, Maussan sacrificed his credibility right on camera, in front of us all - tossed his integrity to the wind in a rhetorical sherade. Instead of acknowledging, wow - wrong about this witness, what a faker - he defended the whole thing tooth fang and claw. Swore up and down about the 'honesty' of the photo forger, sticking to his story of the 'authenticity' of the fabricated photos - as proven to be, under Carrion's microscope.

    I didn't realize when I first caught Jaime's act, early 1990s tv - wow there's a typical example of this fringe pattern. That only became clear, thanks to Carrion's capable investigation in that UFOS OVER EARTH episode on the Mexican flap.

    But if I'd have thought Maussan's cachet would take a hit, from being shown up for a phoney in such glaring media lights, camera, and action - I'd be as wrong. Just as I woulda been, to think, with a guy like that Jim Dilletoso. He was similarly exposed for a shuck and jive artist, masterfully - by Kal Korf - in a tv exchange back in the 1990s.

    There seems an 'Energizer Bunny principle' about these figures. They get hit with best shots, totally exposed right in front of all eyes - competently and capably showing they're cons. But - knock them down, and surprise - its all in vain. They get right back up on their feet again. Like it never even happened.

    To me, seeing such pattern - it suggests something about the milieu of interest, the cultural pattern of saucerology - in terms of its intellectual and human integrity. No wonder I enjoy your blog Jack. Keep up the good work, mkay?


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    1. Thank you very much, Brian. Your relevant and cogent comments are appreciated, as is your encouragement.

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  10. Jack - As I'm sure you know, Schmitt has now retracted his apology. No surprise from a guy who has in the past lied about his background, occupation and research. Also - You were spot on in your recent post on Kevin Randle's blog. There can be no doubt now that these guys knew what they were doing when they represented and endorsed an obviously mummified human child to be an alien.

    Keep up the great work! Not too many people left in this field with your integrity.

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    1. Thanks, Tom. It is indeed difficult to envision how events could have taken place as they did over time without the presence of some efforts to intentionally conceal relevant information. For instance:

      - The repeated release of blurry and cropped images while withholding more relevant images

      - Selectively quoting so-called experts while omitting the expert testimony of others in disagreement

      - Claiming to have consulted with experts, yet some of those claimed contacts continue to remain unnamed

      - Making claims prior to Cinco de Mayo that evidence would be presented that was actually never even addressed

      - It took all of about 48 hours for the placard to be deciphered after Cinco de Mayo and after multiple researchers had requested but been denied access to work on it - all of which was after slides promoters had years to conduct such research.

      Those are just a few of the reasons it is difficult to not strongly suspect relevant events and circumstances were intentionally concealed and misrepresented.

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    1. One of many reasonable questions that remain.

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  12. Dear Mr Pharr,

    Thank you for a tour-de-force of telecommunication electronic advances from semi-conductor transistors and yes, I agree with your logical conclusion as their earthly origin.

    Now Sir, I wonder if you have witnessed a phenomena in the sky, with your own eyes that has made you realize an amazing possibility?

    Or, as growingly apparent by recent disclosures of "Skunk Works" programes such as the Falcon HTV-2 and the Dream Catcher X-37B are the real UFOs? Falcons can fly upwards of Mach 20 as per Lockeed Martin website.

    Maybe all UFO phenomena are human?

    What do you think? Do you believe there is a Majestic-12 Group? What about NPR Club disclosures by Senior officials? What crashed in Roswell? A 509th Bomb Wing experimental delta bomber? Recovered from Germany?

    Wanna see the photo?

    Many thanks for such a brilliant respone :-)

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