The UFO Trail

Leah Haley's Research

2012-02-28T12:58:00.003-05:00

This is one in a series of posts on the Leah Haley Case.

Leah Haley provided me opportunities to exchange research and compare notes with her during the past three years. She also allowed me to ask her many questions on several occasions. I was and continue to be very grateful for her willingness to dig up bones, rub salt in the wound or any number of additional metaphors that relatively apply - yet nonetheless fail to fully encapsulate - the emotionally charged dynamics of the situation.

Incidents of potential interest in her life continued after those described in her books. Such incidents, Haley explained, included what she came to term "virtual reality experiences" and messages from the "Silent Voice."

Haley additionally explained a curious discovery. Leah became aware she and Marshall Applewhite, leader of the infamous Heaven's Gate cult, attended the same college a few years apart during the 1960's. While such occurrences might well bring Project MKULTRA to mind, certain circumstances in and of themselves are interesting concerning how Haley became more deeply immersed in researching mind control operations.

In the fall of 2003 Haley received an anonymous note essentially suggesting she review projects MKULTRA, BLUEBIRD and ARTICHOKE. The note included detailed instructions on how to request the related compact disk set available from the Central Intelligence Agency via the Freedom of Information Act. Haley went on to obtain the disks and the some 20,000 pages of documents contained therein, and, due to what she learned from the documents, continues to consider the anonymous note a major breakthrough.

MKULTRA Documents

Among the documents Marc Davenport and Haley found of interest was #190691, Hypnotic Experimentation and Research. Events were documented in February of 1954 in which two women were used as research subjects to establish a person could be manipulated via hypnosis into virtually completely abandoning their normally held principles and ethics, up to and including being willing to kill another human being when instructed to do so. What's more, the researchers claimed the subjects had no recollections of the experiments taking place.

"The importance of this document," Haley stated, "is that it shows that the CIA had pretty much perfected the Manchurian Candidate by 1954."

Document #190527, SI and H Experimentation (25 September 1951) explained, Haley noted, how researchers claimed to have successfully administered post-hypnotic suggestions by telephone via codewords. It was documented that the post-hypnotic directives included executing detailed instructions related to activating bombs and that, of particular potential significance, the subjects could largely not remember their participation in the experiments. It should be noted that "SI and H" stands for sleep induction and hypnosis.

Haley added, "A second experiment the same evening concerned whether or not individuals whose moral values would normally prevent them from stealing a wallet could be influenced to do so while in a hypnotic state. The answer was yes."

Document #149585, Film Sequence of Top Secret Theft, further asserted findings as described above. It suggested post-hypnotic instructions could indeed be activated via telephone.

Document #147025 is a copy of a 1954 memorandum in which mind control applications, particularly concerning the use of hypnosis, were discussed. One such application included the intentional manufacture of split personality induced during hypnosis. Project objectives included manipulating subjects into executing various predetermined actions when prompted later and with no recall.

Hypnosis was further discussed in document #190597, in which an interview with a professional hypnotist was detailed. Consideration was given to such factors as the physical appearance, place of residence and overall community standing of the hypnotist in relation to the feasibility the hypnotist would make a suitable consultant.

The hypnotist asserted post-hypnotic suggestions could last some 20 years, Haley noted, and such suggestions would be particularly strong if reinforced periodically. The interviewer asked if the hypnotist would be willing to act as a consultant with the Agency and the hypnotist agreed.

For those unaware, Project MKULTRA included some 149 known sub-projects, according to the document, Prepared Statement of Admiral Stansfield Turner, Director of Central Intelligence, which was issued during the 1977 Senate hearings. When project objectives are taken into consideration, it is not difficult to envision the confirmed abuse of involuntary human research subjects may have become entangled with what became reports of supposed high strangeness, such as alleged alien abductions.

A portion of the Research and Development Program of TSS/Chemical Division (of the CIA) was devoted to the discovery and methods of some 17 different means of mind control/behavior modification. In 1955, project objectives included (see page 125) developing "materials which will render the induction of hypnosis easier or otherwise enhance its usefulness," "materials and physical methods which will produce amnesia for events preceding and during their use" and "substances which will promote illogical thinking and impulsiveness to the point where the recipient would be discredited in public."

There are many such authenticated documents. For further reading I recommend, among other sources, the landmark work of John Marks, The Search for the Manchurian Candidate.

An August, 1977, New York Times article, Private Institutions Used in C.I.A. Effort to Control Behavior, revealed details of the disturbing situation as they continued to emerge. Investigative journalists John M. Crewdson, Nicholas M. Horrock, Boyce Rensberger, Jo Thomas and Joseph B. Treaster collaborated to produce the article. The identities of some of the involved doctors were documented, as well as how the broad scope of such abusive research included and was concealed by personnel at specific nonprofit corporations, major colleges, medical facilities and a vast network of such traditionally trusted institutions while spanning no less than 25 years.

For more information about the specific evolution of the role of hypnosis in nefarious operations and its implications to ufology, I highly recommend the work of Gary Haden. Many of his posts on his former blog, Speculative Realms, are now archived on the website of Emma Woods. I particularly recommend locating and reading Haden's Mass Hypnotic Stupor: The MPD "JOKE" and the Paranormal Cult Stupidification of America.

US Patents

Davenport and Haley used the US Patent Office as a resource to monitor and track the possible evolution of technology. Among the documents Haley found most interesting, she explained, was Patent #3,951,134, Apparatus and Method for Remotely Monitoring and Altering Brain Waves, in which brain waves were declared to be remotely read, entrained and altered to a "desired change" via electromagnetic frequencies.

"Patent #'s 5,270,800 and 5,159,703," Haley continued, "describe systems to submit subliminal messages."

In addition to the patents referencing subliminal messages cited by Haley, I invite consideration of a 1979 Time Magazine article, Behavior: Secret Voices, which explored dozens of department stores playing subliminal anti-theft messages over music systems. Incredible decreases in theft were reported, including one chain claiming a whopping 37% reduction, translating into increased savings of some $600,000 over a nine month period.

The secret recipe? People in stores were subliminally instructed to believe they were honest.

Patent #'s 4,858,612 and 4,877,027, Haley pointed out, addressed the creation of sound in the human head via microwaves.

"He (Davenport) also found a number of other patents," Haley stated, "that supported our theory that those voices I heard in my head were not based in the supernatural, and my memories of alien encounters could have been nothing more than human-implanted experiences."

Haley went on to cite additional MKULTRA documents and patents she discovered long after writing about experiences that might reasonably be suspected to correlate with technology described in such documents. One such example was document #173602, Non-Lethal Personnel Behavioral Control, in which high intensity light and electrical current were discussed as methods of behavioral control. Haley detailed such experiences several years prior to learning of the document in both Lost Was the Key and Unlocking Alien Closets.

Another such example Haley suspected might correlate with her experiences was document #190669, SI and H Experimentation, 17 November 1953. An experiment was discussed involving a hypnotized research subject directed to rapidly memorize a long, technical passage and recall it only when prompted later by a codeword. Researchers claimed the experiment was successful, including the subject having no recollection of the activity. Haley noted how reading the document reminded her of an experience she wrote about on page 71 of Unlocking Alien Closets, details of which involved just such reading and memorization of technical material.

Additional reading of interest might include Anna Keeler's Remote Mind Control Technology, a very well constructed piece circa 1980's which offers us somewhat of a 'then and now' perspective. Keeler's work is among that which further established the reality of research and development of mind control devices and methods, as well as symptoms of overexposure to the related electromagnetic frequencies. Such symptoms included, among others, sleep disturbances, hallucinations, memory loss and 'sunburned,' reddened skin (even at night), all of which were very common to witness testimonies of alleged alien abductions.

More recently written material includes US Electromagnetic Weapons and Human Rights, a report completed in December, 2006, in which co-authors Peter Phillips, Lew Brown and Bridget Thornton explored the evolution of the US intelligence community human rights violations and continuing research in electromagnetic weapons. The work was sponsored by Sonoma State University, Project Censored and the Media Freedom Foundation.

UFO Land, Stateside

My interactions with individuals such as Leah who came to believe themselves involuntary research subjects naturally caused me to repeatedly evaluate what I thought took place in their lives. I am empathetic of their perspectives and I ultimately cannot pass judgment one way or the other. It is not difficult for me to suspend judgment on conclusions, particularly as compared to the more out of this world claims, because at least I conclusively know involuntary research subjects and mind control victims exist. Why would I think it impossible - or even particularly unlikely - some of them became involved in ufology, all things considered?

It would seem to me aversions to accepting such likelihoods would be indicative of refusals to accept the US government actually conducted such intrusive operations in the first place. We have to accept the latter to accept the former, and, let's face it, most people just do not want to think about such things (for a variety of personal reasons).

The challenge with averting from serious consideration of the topic is it leaves a vastly incomplete picture of ufology. Alien abduction, if it is nothing, is all about trauma, and the US government has a long and detailed history of administering and studying trauma. If you doubt further research is justified into the likelihood any of that has anything to do with the American UFO community, I invite you to take a much closer look at who, exactly, is present - and specifically what they are doing - in UFO Land, Stateside.

The Leah Haley Case: John Carpenter

2012-02-19T18:21:00.007-05:00

This is one in a series of posts on the Leah Haley Case.

According to LinkedIn dot com, John Carpenter, MSW, LCSW, is a self-employed therapist and lecturer educated at Washington University in St. Louis and DePauw University. The bio also states he was an "abductions research specialist at UFO research."

John Carpenter

Carpenter has a long history with the UFO community and particularly what some call investigation of alien abduction. Serving as the MUFON director of abduction research from approximately 1991 to 2000, Carpenter conducted literally hundreds of regressive hypnosis sessions. He frequently published statements asserting the supposed reality of an alien presence and resulting program of military abductions through speaking engagements, the MUFON Journal and a network of platforms provided by like-minded individuals.

Early on in Leah Haley's quest to learn more about a childhood UFO sighting, Budd Hopkins recommended she contact Carpenter. Haley did so and Carpenter hypnotized her throughout 1991, giving rise to many fantastic and previously unknown alleged experiences of alien abduction and military abduction. More about Haley, her experiences and her current beliefs are contained in previous posts.

Robert Bigelow

Somewhere along his way, John Carpenter was said to have cut a deal with Robert Bigelow involving the release of 140 case files of alleged abductees, including Leah Haley. The files were said to have been sold for $100 apiece, totaling $14,000. The public commonly perceived a single transaction took place.

Certain individuals, including Leah Haley and some of the other 139, were deeply hurt and outraged. They felt betrayed by all parties involved: Carpenter, MUFON, Bigelow and associates.

The event seemed to have taken place sometime during the mid 1990's. It became known as the Carpenter Affair when the public eventually found out around the turn of the century. The circumstances and their ramifications were of interest to some key MUFON personnel, or at least that was the case with the ensuing public relations problems. It was publicly discussed by such personnel, as well as various people of relative interest in ufology, around the Internet.

John Velez and Gary Hart exchanged emails as cited on UFO Updates List, discussing the filing of a formal complaint and reviewing the MUFON code of ethics. Robert Gates also weighed in on the List, sharing his interpretations of some relevant points and questions concerning the Carpenter Affair. Carpenter defended his actions, as did his supportive wife.

James Mosely of Saucer Smear regularly reported on the situation. The September, 2000, edition quoted the MUFON director of governmental affairs, Larry Bryant, expressing his outrage over the manner he interpreted MUFON mishandled the Carpenter Affair:

"Since a cloud of alleged impropriety now hangs over the Executive Committee (of MUFON) for its having taken so long to act upon its months-long knowledge of the 'Carpenter Affair', I hereby call upon all members of the Executive Committee to resign forthwith from their Committee positions, from their membership on the MUFON Board of Directors, and from their MUFON general membership - all in the interest of helping restore the public's confidence in the purpose, operation, management, and integrity of this organization...

"In addition, you Executive Committee members owe all of us in the entire field of UFO research not only a full, written explanation as to who on the MUFON Board originally knew of the 'Carpenter Affair' (and when they knew it) but also a published apology for their having embargoed or otherwise downplayed that knowledge at the expense of the rest of the Board. If we have a lesson to be learned from this debacle, how about this one: Enforced silence never can be the ally of truth!"

Relevant questions remain. Let's consider a few things.

Concerns have been expressed around ufology that Bigelow and his corporations may sometimes act on behalf of hidden partners and undisclosed agencies. Former MUFON international director James Carrion asserted funds donated to MUFON supposedly by Bigelow were actually provided by “sponsors,” the identities of which Bigelow revealed to MUFON board member and former international director John Schuessler, but did not disclose to the remaining MUFON board members.

In the particular circumstance of the Carpenter Affair, some feel it may be relevant that during the time in question, non-lethal weapons expert and career intelligence officer Colonel John Alexander was a staff member at the National Institute for Discovery Science, a Bigelow-founded and now dissolved nonprofit corporation. John Velez wrote via UFO Updates List that Colonel Alexander was interestingly among those who provided confirmation the Carpenter Affair took place. Of potential further interest is Christopher "Kit" Green, a long time CIA employee who also worked with NIDS, according to former NIDS personnel member Eric Davis.

John Schuessler was yet another member of NIDS personnel, a situation that further explains the perspective expressed above by Larry Bryant. In the November, 2000, edition of the 'Smear, Mosely reported:

Our readers will recall that in our Sept. 5th issue, we told you of the internal scandal in MUFON regarding the fact that John Carpenter, their Director of Abduction Research, sold one hundred and forty (140) abduction case histories to wealthy John Bigelow of NIDS (National Institute of Discovery Science). John Schuessler, the new czar of MUFON, has promised an investigation by an Ethics Committee consisting of four unnamed members of their Board of Directors, and he has stated that the results of this internal investigation will be published in the MUFON Journal.

However, we have recently received the October issue of the Journal, and there is not a word therein about the John Carpenter affair! On the contrary, the lead article is authored by Carpenter, who uses the letters "MSW" and "LCSW" after his name. We have no idea what these letters mean, but we do know that the article in question is an absurd defense of the ludicrous "abduction video" which was the topic of Carpenter's presentation at this year's MUFON symposium in St. Louis. It thus appears that Mr. Carpenter is still riding high in the MUFON hierarchy!...

Curious circumstances indeed. Reasonable questions about the Carpenter Affair include:

Was the Carpenter Affair an isolated incident and single transaction as commonly supposed, or was Carpenter involved in additional, ongoing transactions and arrangements?

When did Carpenter's dealings with Bigelow begin?

Why did Bigelow want the 140 case files?

Might Carpenter's affiliation with the Bigelow camp have influenced how he conducted his 'investigations' and effected the ways he interacted with self-described experiencers?

Why did Carpenter not simply tell people, such as Haley and fellow MUFON leaders (in addition to Schuessler, who sat on the NIDS scientific advisory board, creating the related questionable circumstances), he intended to share files and/or information with Bigelow?

I emailed John Carpenter to try to learn more. I informed him I was blogging about the Leah Haley Case and asked if I could ask him some questions. After a few attempts at contact, he eventually replied, “Sure.”

I sent him some questions, to which he replied with some questions of his own, including asking, “Where is this information going?”

“How ironic,” I thought... and after exchanging a few more initial remarks, we proceeded.

Below is the vast majority of Carpenter's comments to me. I am providing them in their virtual entirety and exactly as written, less a few remarks contained in a previous post.

I initially asked Carpenter how his interactions with the Bigelow camp began. I also asked what criteria was used to identify the 140 files as being of interest and if he engaged in any other transactions or projects with Bigelow. I encouraged him to provide commentary as he might be inclined to further clarify the circumstances.

Carpenter replied:

Bob Bigelow is a low key quiet man who has an avid and serious interest in the paranormal for all the right reasons. Because he worked hard for years at real estate and investments, he eventually made enough money to fund projects that would further research, bring answers, and take a much needed, serious, scientific, and psychological look at the UFO field.

All the serious researchers knew him well as he made a point of connecting with the best ones to see what they needed or what projects he could help with. He funded projects for Budd Hopkins, Stanton Friedman, Linda Howe, David Jacobs, myself, Dr. John Mack, George Knapp, MUFON, and more. People need to quit ASSUMING he is some shady figure!!

Carpenter ended the email by indicating he would send more later. I encouraged him to do so and in his next message he wrote:

Bob Bigelow is a kind-hearted, generous individual who avidly sought answers in professional, credible directions. He helped bring researchers together to discuss issues (while staying discreetly in the background). He helped fund the historical M.I.T. Abduction Study Conference in Boston in 1992.

He helped fund the famous Roper poll on how many Americans may have been abducted. This led then to another effort to train mental health professionals in abduction knowledge and therapy skills by way of major professional conferences for mental health personnel ONLY. These were held successfully in New York, Atlanta, Los Angeles, and Chicago with John Mack, Budd Hopkins, David Jacobs, and myself as speakers. Bob wanted all the best for quality research and proper treatment for abductees.

I first met Bob when he tagged along with Linda Moulton Howe as she visited Southwest Missouri to work with me on several interesting abduction cases. Her subsequent film production became the pilot special that evolved into the long-running show, Sightings!

Bob said he was impressed with my hypnotherapy skills and professionalism. He, later on, flew me to Las Vegas, Tucson, Vancouver Island, and Nevada to help abduction cases he had become aware of. He also helped fund the investigation in New Mexico of Gerald Anderson's claims with myself and Stanton Friedman.

Carpenter continued in another message:

Eventually Bob created the National Institute for Discovery Science (NIDS) in Las Vegas so that top scientists and other fields of professional expertise could study paranormal events, UFO cases, etc in a serious and quiet manner. He developed a science board of experts that would impress anybody on this planet. It included two Apollo astronauts who had walked on the moon, Jacques Vallee, Ian Stevenson (reincarnation studies), Hal Putoff (astrophysics), Edgar Mitchell, and many others who preferred to remain anonymous. They would secretly convene once a month and study various cases and projects.

I had the wonderful opportunity to give a presentation on abductions to this incredible panel of experts!

Having clarified the good and generous nature of Bob Bigelow and all the wonderful things he helped to make possible for all the right reasons, I want to clarify the last project that I worked on with his organization.

He wanted some of his top professional minds to study abduction data. I agreed to confidentially share data from a number of my cases by blacking out names and identifying data to protect my cases while giving top scientists a taste of what is being reported in abduction research.

Despite rumors on the Internet, I NEVER SOLD my cases!! That rumor supposedly had credibility because it was started by my ex-wife who wanted to stir up controversy and headaches for me! Doesn't anybody understand this dynamic with an ex-wife?

Anyway, for the record, all of my 140 plus cases remain complete, intact, and unchanged -- all in my possession if anybody cares to drop by my house just to be certain! Bob Bigelow only reimbursed me for my time and costs to work on selecting, preparing, and sending data. It was an honor to have great minds study this important information, quietly, discreetly, and respectfully. However, I heard that most of it never got reviewed and probably sits in some closet as priorities and more exciting projects came along. Around that time Bob had bought the famous ranch in Utah known for it's paranormal events, and the science team had a chance to study weirdness on our planet firsthand!! (See the book on these events -- "Hunt for the Skinwalker.")

I was disgusted with the rumors, lack of trust, cruelty, and self-serving comments made by Internet buffs --- most who have not performed one ounce of research. They trashed me, tried a lawsuit, discredited my long hours of serious, careful research, and had no comprehension of how I had tried to help abductees and their cause. I had held a full time job during all those years and did all research in my free time -- usually for free or donations. It made me sick, so I just backed away from it all. A voluntary effort is not worth all those headaches!

But I know so much from my cases and feel I still have much to offer. So it is hard to refuse anyone who still needs my help. I will still give presentations for conferences if asked. I produced 10 research DVDs as well to document my research. With Budd Hopkins and Dr. John Mack gone, my famed abductions colleagues have dwindled.

Any other questions?

I replied:

“Yes, a few. I would particularly appreciate direct answers to the following direct questions:

"I interpret you are communicating to me that you shared information with Robert Bigelow about abductees you worked with on an ongoing basis, not in a single transaction as the public commonly perceives. Is that a correct interpretation on my part?

"What was the date he tagged along with Linda Moulton Howe and you first met him?

"Would you please reasonably clarify the chain of events by providing a general time line of how the transfer of the information specifically related to the 140 cases in question evolved? For example, when you met Bigelow, when you began sharing information about the experiences of the 140, when you received compensation, etc.

"Did you have dealings with any individuals acting on behalf or in conjunction with the Bigelow camp, in addition to Robert Bigelow and concerning the 140 files, and, if so, who?

"Did you receive $14,000 or thereabouts from Robert Bigelow?

"Around the turn of the century, a post on Geocities dot com revealed the names of 139 of the alleged alien abductees in question. What would you say to those who might hold you and your choices responsible, at the least indirectly, for the occurrence?

"What would you say to the experiencers you worked with who may feel violated by your choices and betrayed by your actions, and might suggest you are rationalizing your behavior while minimizing the emotional damage done?”

Carpenter replied:

Yes, my data sharing was spread over 3 years around 1995 and the reimbursements trickled in over that period, so I don't know the actual total. My ex-wife provided a figure, but I'm not sure how she would have totaled it. Other researchers were approached with the same proposal, and some of them may have shared data, too.

I emphasize the confidentiality, care, and protection I gave this data. And I know of nobody that was harmed in any fashion.

I met Bob on Linda's trip in 1990.

I always dealt directly with Bob Bigelow.

I was appalled that a list of names was leaked to the Internet... I had privately developed code numbers for each case to protect the identity of each person. This way I could privately keep track of each case by number NOT by NAMES. I later learned that my ex-wife copied my private list and gave it out, and then some insensitive idiot had the nerve to put this private list on the Internet thus exposing identities that I had worked hard to protect. That person should be held accountable for such an insensitive and hurtful act!

However, since I worked with cases all over the country, the name Bill Johnson could be a lot of people since no locations or addresses were attached. The code numbers were to protect their identity and maintain confidentiality. The Internet and rumor-mongers were the hurtful participants!

Closing Remarks

I leave it up to the reader to determine what may be surmised from the statements of John Carpenter. You can determine for yourself what was learned and what issues remain.

Those who read The UFO Trail and know me are aware of my thoughts and feelings on such issues as regressive hypnosis used as a memory retrieval tool. My views are also reasonably well known on certain circumstances Carpenter chose to cite, as well as the work of some of the people he opted to frame in a positive light. I recognize Carpenter's right to hold and express any opinions he may choose, and I have no inclination to jump on any soap boxes in the immediate wake of those expressions. Suffice it to say there is plenty of competently composed critical review in opposition to circumstances cited by Carpenter, and I will primarily leave it at that.

I sincerely hope John Carpenter finds peace with himself. I also hope the often emotionally troubled people who summon the courage to reach out to such individuals as Carpenter in search of help will find much deserved relief and peace from their suffering. I hope those who were long since hurt by the Carpenter Affair found some comfort somewhere, too.

Decide for yourselves what you think mattered about the Carpenter Affair and Carpenter's recent statements. Decide for yourself what you would think mattered about it all if you were Leah Haley.

I indicated I wanted to discuss one last thing with Carpenter and I thanked him for providing comments.

“If you were so confident your motives and intentions were honorable,” I asked, “why did you not ever just ask Leah if it would be okay to share her file with an interested party? After all, she was obviously an ambitious truth seeker, considering her activities and levels of commitment. Why didn't you just ask her?”

“She was already publicly sharing, speaking, and publishing more details of her case than I ever thought of sharing,” Carpenter replied in an email, “and I wasn't sharing anything publicly --- only discreetly and privately with scientists -- that's what researchers do.”

Three minutes after the previous email, Carpenter sent another, adding, “If every researcher had to stop and call every case for permission before discussing details privately with another researcher, we never could have had confidential discussions and research meetings to advance this field of study.”

All other hurtful remarks and distorted perspectives temporarily aside, I take serious issue with the statement, “advance this field of study.”

The Leah Haley Case: Tom Deuley, The Tampa Trib and MUFON Unaccountability

2012-02-16T12:02:00.002-05:00

This is one in a series of posts on the Leah Haley Case.

In March, 1995, Leah Haley and Marc Davenport had a speaking engagement at the Tampa Unity Church in Tampa, Florida. The couple regularly shared the controversial views they held at the time on such matters as aliens, multiple dimensions and military abductions.

Kurt Loft of The Tampa Tribune-Times wrote a piece on the scheduled event. Loft's article, UFO Enthusiasts to Describe Out-of-This-World Adventures, was published in the March 5, 1995, edition of the newspaper.

Loft summarized the claims and perspectives of Haley and Davenport and sought statements from other applicable sources. Major David Thurston, identified by Loft as a spokesman for the Air Force in Washington, provided comment. He explained the Pentagon did not take such claims seriously.

Fair enough. I would certainly expect Thurston to have accurately represented the policies and stances of his employer.

Loft also sought comment from Tom Deuley of MUFON. Loft wrote:

The Pentagon scoffs at the accusations, said Maj. David Thurston, a spokesman for the Air Force in Washington.

"I don't want to dignify such charges with a comment," he said. "I will say the Air Force isn't in the business of kidnapping the citizens of this country."

Nor does the Mutual UFO Network, which publishes the UFO Journal in Seguin, Texas, embrace Haley's abduction stories--either by aliens or the military.

"I would advise people to listen very closely to their lecture and apply some common sense to what they hear," said Tom Deuley of the Network, which has more than 5,200 members. "We feel very embarrassed that UFOs are the vehicle for people making a living. When people tell such ridiculous stories, it doesn't help the serious scientific work being done."

Trouble was, the article and Deuley's statements were simply misrepresentations of actual MUFON actions and apparent policy.

Tom Deuley

Tom Deuley

Lieutenant Commander Thomas P. Deuley, US Navy, Retired, has an impressive resume and long history in ufology. One of his many bios circulating through the UFO community states he holds an engineering degree from Auburn and a degree in advertising from San Antonio College. He has a diverse background in military affairs including security and intelligence. A former National Security Agency employee, Deuley has presented information to the UFO community on a variety of topics.

Deuley is a long time member of the MUFON board of directors. He also held key positions within additional UFO organizations and resulting projects, including the Fund for UFO Research, the UFO Research Coalition and the ill fated Ambient Monitoring Project, a program drawing substantial criticism, among other reasons, for its lack of transparency.

At the time, March 5, 1995, Loft suggested in The Tampa Trib, evidently based upon comments provided by Deuley, that neither MUFON nor its Journal embraced such abduction stories, little could have been further from correct. The facts of the matter were if we need any documentation MUFON has a long history of supporting such stories, we need look no farther than the very MUFON Journal suggested to oppose such claims.

In actuality, the 1995 February and April editions of the Journal carried a column written by then-MUFON director of abduction research, John Carpenter. The column, Abduction Notes, was regularly published in the Journal and clearly promoted and endorsed claims of abduction, both alien and military.

As a matter of fact, in February, 1995, Carpenter wrote that John Mack brought attention to the “reality of UFO abductions.” Carpenter went on in the same column to endorse Streiber's Communion and Hopkins' Intruders.

The April, 1995, installment of Abduction Notes published in the MUFON Journal saw Carpenter writing about the importance of providing professional support to alien abductees. Combined with Deuley's virtually simultaneous and particularly critical comments on such matters, the situation could reasonably be interpreted as an outrageously ironic contradiction in MUFON policy. Clearly, the MUFON stance was not entirely and accurately represented in The Trib.

Perhaps most insulting of all to Leah Haley, Deuley apparently failed to inform Loft it was Deuley's fellow MUFON director, John Carpenter, who originally personally assisted and encouraged Haley in forming and cultivating her ideas via hypnosis about aliens and military personnel in the first place. The article also failed to accurately portray the role MUFON director Donald Ware played in the situation. Ware participated in the Eglin expedition, a hike in which a US Air Force base was searched for the site of an allegedly downed alien craft Haley was once supposed to have been aboard. What's more, it was Ware who originally suggested they undertake the remarkable hike and search. The very organization in which Leah sought help, hesitantly yet trustfully following their paradigm-shifting concepts and suggestions that included a year of hypnotic regression sessions, threw her under the bus on the pages of The Tampa Tribune-Times.

More facts of the matter include Haley was not “making a living” at sharing her story as Deuley suggested. Far from it, actually.

In her book, Unlocking Alien Closets, pages 181-182, Haley addressed the Loft article. Among other points presented, she detailed her personal finances which clearly demonstrated her activities in the UFO community were severely detrimental - and by no means beneficial - to money matters. Haley further stated that to the best of her recollection, she never so much as met Tom Deuley.

I emailed Deuley to try to learn more. I informed him I write a UFO-related blog and I provided a link. I stated I am writing about the Leah Haley Case and asked if I may ask him some questions.

Two similar requests were sent to the MUFON email address of Robert Swiatek, another long time MUFON board member who has previously posted comment here at The UFO Trail. The emails to Swiatek were not answered.

Multiple emails were also sent to MUFON board member Marie Malzahn at two different email addresses on file here at The 'Trail. I requested permission to ask her some questions about current MUFON policy and no replies were received.

Deuley replied he would be glad to entertain questions but advised he did not recall much about the Haley case. He added maybe the questions would be reminders.

On January 9, 2012, I emailed Deuley a summary of the Loft article and situation as described above, as well as reference to the Carpenter Affair. I thanked him for his willingness to entertain questions and stated I would appreciate comments at his convenience.

I asked what he would say to people who might question the hypocrisy of him speaking on behalf of MUFON and criticizing Haley, when it was his very MUFON peer, Carpenter, who originally encouraged and promoted her then-beliefs. I asked, most importantly, how might he expect Leah Haley to feel about it.

I also requested Deuley state his stance on MUFON chapters continuing to promote and
conduct regressive hypnosis as a memory retrieval tool.

I requested Deuley explain, as a long time MUFON board member and considering the mission of the organization to conduct scientific research, how he feels about the MUFON tendencies to provide public platforms to such self-described researchers as the late Budd Hopkins and others who use hypnosis as a primary tool of investigation. I asked Deuley to clarify his stance on David Jacobs being recently provided a public platform at MUFON LA. I also requested Deuley state his stance on MUFON chapters continuing to promote and conduct regressive hypnosis as a memory retrieval tool.

I asked if he would please comment on his recollections of how the MUFON board of directors handled the Carpenter Affair. I inquired whether Deuley was pleased or dissatisfied with MUFON actions, and what he thought was most important about the entire series of events.

I referenced how former MUFON international director James Carrion was quite outspoken about his interpretations the intelligence community plays a significant role in ufology, including the manipulation of MUFON. I further referenced how Clifford Clift made comments to a similar effect, even if the two men imply one another were more part of the problem than not. I then asked Deuley if he thinks MUFON was ever, at any time either formerly or currently, covertly infiltrated by the intelligence community.

As of this post, I have received no further emails or responses from Tom Deuley.

Accountability

To clarify, I do not oppose Deuley's implications ufology could use more critical thinking. Of course it could.

I take issue with MUFON board members holding conflicting perspectives while each claiming and/or implying to be acting on behalf of the organization, especially when it results in an individual, Haley, publicly criticized who was assured help and did as she was suggested. I also take issue with said board members being unaccountable for the behavior. I further take issue with members of the MUFON board of directors continuing to refuse to commit to a stance or even so much as address the issues, particularly concerning the use of hypnosis as a memory retrieval tool.

The latest MUFON international director, David "The Captain" MacDonald, cooperatively fielded some questions here at The UFO Trail. While I appreciate his willingness to address issues, I find his comments concerning hypnosis unacceptable and indicative of a poorly informed UFO community.

Concerning MUFON providing platforms to individuals who use hypnosis as a primary investigative tool, Mr. MacDonald stated he has "no problem" with chapters hosting speakers making presentations on any "investigative procedure," including hypnosis. The problem with that, Mr. MacDonald, is the professional research community does not recognize hypnosis as an investigative procedure. This includes the academic/scientific community. The medical industry, which includes mental health professionals, does not recognize hypnosis as an investigative procedure, either. That is because, to overstate what should be the obvious yet remains chronically elusive, it is not an investigative procedure.

None of that would be particularly significant if it were not for the facts the Mutual UFO Network is a nonprofit public charity and claims to be dedicated to the scientific study of UFOs for the benefit of humanity. It is not a private corporation or a hypnosis society. Neither is it dedicated to promoting inaccurate information subject to the best ticket draw and at the emotional sacrifice of those who approach it for advertised investigative and support services - even though it may appear that way much more often than not.

As we proceed with the exploration of the Leah Haley Case, let us please remember the key issues. Let us not be swayed by those who try to distract our attention from the most significant facts.

Leah Haley was hypnotized repeatedly throughout 1991 by a MUFON director, John Carpenter, inducing emotional upheaval and beliefs she was traumatically abducted again and again by a variety of alien and human perpetrators. She was guided by another MUFON director, Lieutenant Colonel Donald Ware, through an expedition of a US Air Force Base, supposedly searching for a site an alien craft was downed with her aboard and as suggested during one of the many hypnosis sessions. Her case file and the files of 139 other alleged abductees were released by Carpenter to Robert Bigelow and his military intelligence associates, as reportedly confirmed by Colonel John Alexander and cited in the previous post.

Those are facts. What the facts may indicate is open to interpretation and justifies further research. As I have stated all along, I do not claim to have conclusions.

Haley believes she somehow became involved in covert research operations. As I have written, Haley's case may, at worst, be indicative of covert psychological operations in which any number of people were manipulated and deceived. At best, Haley's story is the saga of a woman who sought the services of organizations and individuals claiming to provide quality, scientific investigation and healthy emotional support - and those organizations and individuals simply lied, be it out of ignorance, incompetence, deception or combinations thereof.

I would hope the UFO community would take note of such occurrences and be interested in improving its performance. Unfortunately, I have little reason to currently believe that is the case.

Haley's situation, extraordinary as it may seem, is actually not as unique as it may initially appear. It just happens to be relatively high profile. Think about it.

There is the Emma Woods situation. There is the Carol Rainey films and information. Let us not forget there are no less than 139 others directly involved in the Carpenter Affair. I am personally and directly aware of individuals who contacted MUFON, a public nonprofit corporation purportedly dedicated to scientific research, for assistance in understanding their strange experiences and were abruptly referred to hypnotists. Some of these individuals have since decided the hypnosis sessions were unhelpful in identifying actuality, traumatic and quite harmful to their emotional well being and mental health.

I invite you to ask yourself if you will support and enable those who rationalize such circumstances, trying to dilute the significance of damage being inflicted. Accountability is in order - not excuses.

The Leah Haley Case: The Eglin Expedition

2012-02-11T06:32:00.004-05:00

This is one in a series of posts on the Leah Haley Case.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency need look no farther than the beach incident to get some helpful pointers on how to achieve its objective of effectively developing and tracking memes. The hypnotic propagation of the incident and its growth into what physically manifested as the Eglin expedition are indeed fascinating and curious on a number of levels.

Haley is now uncertain exactly what happened during an event that was the focus of a July, 1991, hypnosis session conducted by John Carpenter. She is currently quite confident, however, that the event, the beach incident, is not as it initially appeared to her in the hypnotically induced mental imagery.

One way or the other, the beach incident was conceived and Haley, at the time, proceeded to seek clues which might have helped her further identify actuality. What she found was a winding trail and pot luck of Mufonians, ufologists, various self-proclaimed experts, unclear circumstances and what would later be identified as questionable motives.

Sprawling Eglin Air Force Base is located a few miles east of Pensacola, Florida, in the vicinity of Gulf Breeze and bordering the Gulf of Mexico. On September 24, 1992, Haley, Lieutenant Colonel Donald Ware, USAF, Retired, and Colonel Robert Reid, USAF, Retired, took a 13-mile hike eastward across the south end and beach of the base, from Navarre towards Ft. Walton Beach.

Ware and Reid were members of the MUFON board of directors. They acted as guides on a search for a location where Haley may have been aboard an alien craft downed by the US military and as suggested in regressive hypnosis sessions conducted by Carpenter, another MUFON director at the time.

The "kitchen timer" as photographed during the hike

Items of interest that resulted from the curious hike included photos of some equipment, dubbed the “kitchen timer” by Haley, located on the base and along the beach. At the time it was suspected the equipment may have been used to generate a field of electromagnetic pulses, effectively disabling and downing the alleged alien craft Haley was supposed to have been aboard.

In Unlocking Alien Closets, page 43, Haley wrote:

A couple of months or so after Don, Bob and I investigated the area, Don gave a lecture to the San Diego UFO Society. He showed the audience a photo of the weird “kitchen timer” instrument I had photographed at the southern end of Eglin Air Force Base. In his lecture Don referred to it as a “directed electromagnetic pulse device.” After Don's talk, an elderly, white-haired gentleman approached Don and said, “When I saw that picture, I got chills up and down my spine. You have correctly named it. I am the engineer who made the drawings for the company that built that device.”

Another view

Interesting coincidence. There are more curious coincidences and discrepancies.

I recommend the particularly interested reader invest some time in learning about tactics and procedures common to military intelligence large scale deception operations, in the event they do not have a familiarity with the topic. I am not going to currently write about such procedures, but suffice it to say the topic is quite potentially relevant, and certain events being described may not appear as puzzling to some as they do to others.

The trio took photos and completed the hike without ever being confronted by base security. Haley wrote at one point they came upon a medic truck parked along the beach. It seemed Ware and Reid spoke with the medics while Haley stayed back.

“I thought it odd to see a medic truck parked on the beach,” Haley wrote in Unlocking Alien Closets, page 41.

“When Don and Bob returned, they told me the medics did not know why they had been sent there – they were just to go there and wait.”

The beach incident gained momentum following the Eglin expedition. The subsequent buzz about alien craft disabled by electromagnetic weapons breathed life into the story. It was not long, though, before Haley suspected she was being played.

A short distance from Eglin Air Force Base

In May, 1994, Haley and the late Marc Davenport conducted an experiment. In an effort to test the likelihood Haley, Ware and Reid were actually intentionally allowed to 'trespass' and hike across Eglin, Haley and Davenport attempted to walk the route of the original hike. The two were quickly confronted by base security and ordered to leave the way they came, else face legal consequences.

“The guard threatened to take us to the brig and cite us,” Haley recently recalled.

Who Were All Those People in Gulf Breeze?

There is a great deal to be studied and considered about the Gulf Breeze saga. I have now spent years researching certain aspects of how Gulf Breeze relates to the Leah Haley Case, and I can tell you without question I have barely scratched the surface.

There are others who have learned much, much more than I about such names as Ed Walters, Bruce Maccabee and Vance Davis. There are many, many more names of potential interest, several of which commonly remain all but unmentioned. Some researchers have lots of information to share and I know relatively little in comparison.

I can tell you one thing I learned, though. In spite of an avalanche of proclamations to the contrary, I have yet to find any reason at all to conclude intelligent alien lifeforms were present in the Florida Panhandle. I have no reason to believe any such aliens abducted human beings, were engaged in hostile war maneuvers or any other such fantastic circumstances.

An important question becomes who the hell all those people were that flocked to Gulf Breeze. My current answer is I do not know, not exactly, but I am confident the question matters. I have learned a few things about some of those people and I will share a bit of what I learned.

I have a sincere hope competent research and refusals to cower away from the right questions will one day more clearly reveal the actual agendas and activities of the players. My personal opinion is when that time comes, the UFO community will then have its answers to the Gulf Breeze enigma.

According to his website, Donald Ware is a retired Air Force pilot who achieved the rank of lieutenant colonel. He earned a BS in mechanical engineering in 1957 from Duke and an MS in nuclear engineering in 1972 from the Air Force Institute of Technology.

Donald Ware

As mentioned, Lieutenant Colonel Ware resided in the Gulf Breeze area and was extensively involved in ufology. His activities ranged from serving as a MUFON board member and MUFON Eastern Regional Director to directing the International UFO Congress. His website demonstrates his apparent extreme views on topics UFO, including a “transformation” currently taking place and facilitated by an alien intelligence. According to Ware, such alien transforming includes “genetic engineering” of the human population, resulting in increased intelligence quotient (IQ) and ease of telepathy, among other such things.

Ware's views and activities reportedly led to a parting of the ways with MUFON in 1993. The July, 1993, MUFON Journal, Director's Message, explained Ware was removed from the board of directors after he refused to resign.

“In an unprecedented election,” then-director Walter Andrus wrote, “Donald M. Ware was voted to be removed from the Board effective June 1, 1993.”

It seemed Ware was into promoting the channeling of aliens and the like, and a majority of his fellow board members did not share his enthusiasm about such topics. They seemed to be of the opinion Ware was damaging the scientific credibility of the organization. After apparent repeated warnings to lighten up, they removed Ware from the board. I will leave it up to the reader to form an opinion of the legitimacy of the board choosing that particular point in time to play the 'scientific research' card, considering the kinds of unsubstantiated material MUFON regularly promoted through its public events and Journal from the 1990's to present.

At any rate and whatever we make of Lieutenant Colonel Ware and his history, he was indeed on the Eglin expedition in September, 1992, and while in a role of MUFON leadership. I emailed him in attempts to learn more about the hike and related circumstances. I asked, among other things, how the expedition was arranged.

Ware claimed Haley thought she knew when the beach incident happened, August, 1988. She then wanted help identifying “where the vehicle came down,” he wrote.

“I told her there is about 100 miles of the sugary white sand along our coast,” Ware explained, alluding to details arising out of Haley's regressive hypnosis sessions with Carpenter, “but the most likely place for the military people to be there so soon would be the 13 miles of restricted Eglin AFB beach between Navarre and Ft. Walton Beach.”

Ware indicated he then suggested to Haley they hike the 13 miles. Haley agreed, never lacking courage and never short on heart.

I asked Ware what he thinks about the Carpenter Affair, in which John Carpenter turned over the case files of Leah Haley and 139 other possible alien abductees to Robert Bigelow.

“I see no problem with that,” Ware replied, adding the files are only useful to society if people see them.

Some think it worth noting Bigelow has a long history of controversial activities and questionable motives, such as funding the highly criticized Roper polls and coming under fire when the original sources of his financial contributions to MUFON were called into question. Items of note additionally include circumstances surrounding the National Institute for Discovery Science, or NIDS, a nonprofit corporation no longer active but originally founded and headed by Bigelow. Former NIDS personnel member Eric Davis stated on the April 1, 2006, broadcast of Coast to Coast that long time CIA employee Christopher "Kit" Green worked with NIDS.

Additional controversy includes Bigelow's relationship with Colonel John Alexander, another former member of NIDS personnel. Colonel Alexander, known as “Mr. Non-Lethal” due to his advocacy of such weapons and technology, was directly accused of conducting intrusive mind control operations involving involuntary human research subjects and consisting of voices in the head as reported by Sharon Weinberger in her Washington Post cover story, Mind Games. It should be noted, however, that any such accusations have yet to be substantiated. Much more on non-lethal weapons research and development, as well as abuse of human research subjects, may be viewed in US Electromagnetic Weapons and Human Rights, a Sonoma State University-Project Censored work by Peter Phillips, Lew Brown and Bridget Thornton.

Curiously, Colonel Alexander was among those who reportedly confirmed the reality of John Carpenter's actions. In a July 20, 2000, email to UFO Updates List and referring to the Carpenter Affair, John Velez explained, "This nasty business has now been confirmed by Bigelow himself, Walt Andrus, Dr. Alexander of NIDS, and about seven of the abductees whose files were sold."

“I suspect Bigelow's friends would also find those files useful,” Lieutenant Colonel Ware stated about the Carpenter Affair.

“I suspect Bigelow's friends would also find those files useful,” Lieutenant Colonel Ware stated about the Carpenter Affair. When asked who, specifically, those friends might be and why they would find the files useful, Ware's unspecific reply included remarks about the alleged MJ 12, a supposed treaty “with the Zetas” and a new species of humans “more survivable in off-planet conditions,” among other topics.

The relationship between Ware and Carpenter continued after each of their challenges within MUFON. Carpenter made presentations at various events and venues in which Ware held leadership roles and invited speakers. Ware indicated he continued to hold Carpenter in high regard.

“I saw his (Carpenter's) presentation to Georgia MUFON folks a while back and thought it was very well done,” Ware stated, adding he would continue to invite Carpenter to speak when the opportunity presents itself.

I asked Ware what led him to correctly believe he could hike extensively across Eglin with visitors and without being detained by base security personnel.

“A state law keeps the part of Florida coasts below the high tide line open to the public except when a mission is in progress,” he answered.

Research revealed most states adopted the Public Trust Doctrine, a document of various loosely suggested water access guidelines published by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Public beach access is universally recommended within certain tide lines, at least in theory, but many relevant contingencies are not addressed at length or in detail.

I telephoned Eglin Air Force Base, Media Relations, to inquire further. I was directed to call the base's Jackson Guard.

During a call placed to the Jackson Guard on January 6, 2012, I asked if I could hike across the base if I stayed on the beach and below the high tide line. I added I was told a Florida law allowed such a hike.

The Jackson Guard representative asked if I had base access. After telling them, no, I did not have any special access but wanted to know if such a hike was permissible, I was respectfully informed in no uncertain terms no one is allowed on base without proper access.

Suffice it to say I would personally not rely on citing any such guidelines or obscure legislation while hoping to access Eglin Air Force Base. That is particularly my opinion after speaking with the Jackson Guard.

There are of course numerous explanations that might account for exactly how the Eglin expedition came to be. The fact remains, however, that Ware is neither clear nor direct in providing any such explanation. While I appreciate his willingness to offer comments, his statements are not specific and neither confirm nor eliminate practically any of the many possibilities.

The bottom line here is details remain elusive of how a hike across a United States secure military facility occurred, in which participants carried and used a camera, no less. This all took place, I am led to believe, while the guides, both MUFON directors, were hoping to assist a woman, encouraged to think she was an alien abductee by yet another MUFON director, in identifying the location an alien craft was grounded. After directly asking the man - that admittedly originally proposed and coordinated this remarkable expedition - to explain what led him to correctly believe he could take a party hiking across Eglin Air Force Base, I still do not conclusively know. I do seem to have been offered some unrequested information about Zetas and a secret superior breed of humans groomed to live on other planets, though.

The extraordinarily curious chain of events and the controversial activities of MUFON directors became even more curious and controversial in circumstances surrounding yet a fourth MUFON director, Lieutenant Commander Thomas Deuley, US Navy, Retired. In 1995 while speaking as a MUFON representative, Deuley told reporter Kurt Loft of The Tampa Tribune-Times that MUFON did not embrace "such ridiculous stories" as told by Leah Haley. As we will explore in an upcoming post, Deuley entirely failed to mention to The Trib his own MUFON peers, directors Carpenter, Ware and Reid, were directly and extensively involved, as we have now seen, in those exact stories from their very outsets.

The Leah Haley Case: Springfield, St. Louis and on to Gulf Breeze

2012-02-07T14:14:00.002-05:00

This is one in a series of posts on the Leah Haley Case.

Reports of strange events became the norm during the 1980's and 1990's in the vicinity of Gulf Breeze, Florida. It is not difficult to envision such events may have at least included, if not completely been both direct and indirect results of, organized psychological operations conducted by the intelligence community. This may particularly be the case when we take into account the presence of military intel personnel and their curious activities as described in previous posts.

To further consider the likelihood Leah Haley was an involuntary participant in such possible operations, we should take a look at how she became drawn to the Gulf Breeze area from her home in Mississippi. We should give some thought to who was involved and what took place, and I will explore such circumstances in this and upcoming posts.

I will emphasize I do not claim to be able to produce direct evidence psychological operations and covert research projects were carried out during the Gulf Breeze events. Personally, I think the possibility is very likely, particularly after we formulate such factors as the Gulf Breeze Six into the equation. I am only trying to present facts and their resulting unanswered questions for consideration, however, not conclusions.

That stated, there is yet another large, looming piece of the Leah Haley puzzle that should under no circumstances be overlooked amid searches for spooks and alleged aliens. A glaring and undeniable reality of the Leah Haley story should remain apparent to all, regardless of preferred beliefs or areas of interest: No self-described experiencer who seeks help should ever be subjected to the emotionally traumatic abuses perpetrated on this woman, by the very people and organizations, no less, that claimed to offer applicable services and support.

As the reader shall continue to see, the Leah Haley Case should be of interest for many reasons. Such reasons include the involvement of the intelligence community in matters of ufology. Such reasons also very much include the abusive exploitation of witnesses by a UFO community that commits fraud while advertising available assistance.

Are the above two reasons sometimes one and the same? I do not know for sure, but it is clear in the case of Leah Haley that such circumstances bleed into one another, and I am convinced the question deserves its fair share of attention.

Intruder: Alien or Hypnotist?

After visiting the home of her parents during July, 1990, and discussing a childhood UFO sighting, Haley contacted Budd Hopkins in hopes of resolving questions related to the sighting. Hopkins was chosen for consultation due to his claims he possessed extensive knowledge of such affairs.

The late Budd Hopkins pictured with Carol Rainey

Hopkins created the Intruders Foundation, a private nonprofit organization supposedly dedicated to quality investigation and providing access to a network of trained professionals. Trained, presumably, in relevant and applicable skills, but not necessarily, as their often preferred activity, hypnosis, has long been established by the professional medical community as unreliable as an investigative and memory retrieval tool.

Actually, the American Medical Association does not recognize or endorse the use of hypnosis for any purpose whatsoever. What's more, Carol Rainey conclusively demonstrated the tendencies of Hopkins to both commit fraud and support hoaxes in her relatively recent films and article, The Priests of High Strangeness: Co-Creation of the “Alien Abduction Phenomenon”. I understand more material is forthcoming from Rainey.

Hopkins was, however, the 'go to guy' of the day on such matters, so Haley contacted him to hopefully learn more about her sighting that included short term amnesia, or what Hopkins and the UFO community dubbed missing time. Hopkins then promptly referred Haley to hypnotist John Carpenter of Missouri, for whatever reasons.

John Carpenter

John Carpenter seems to currently sit on the editorial board of the Journal of Abduction-Encounter Research, or JAR. According to his bio on the JAR website, Carpenter holds a Master's in Social Work and is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker.

The bio further states, at least at the time of this post, Carpenter is the MUFON director of abduction research. I am quite certain that is incorrect. Carpenter held that position from 1991 until 2000, I am under the impression, when news surfaced of what came to be known as the Carpenter Affair. I have no reason to believe he continues to hold the position with MUFON as stated on the JAR site yet contradicted by many sources, including Karyn Dolan's Through the Keyhole (see entry for Friday, June 13, 2008).

The Carpenter Affair, a series of Carpenter's actions during the 1990's which were later called into question, created a great deal of controversy and public relations problems when they came to light around the turn of the century. Actions deemed questionable included Carpenter providing case files of 140 possible alien abductees, including Leah Haley, to Robert Bigelow and while receiving financial compensation from Bigelow.

We will explore the circumstances in more depth as we continue, but before the Carpenter Affair was public knowledge, there were indeed the events of the early 1990's; events and times in which MUFON quite prominently promoted and endorsed the activities of John Carpenter. He was, at that time, anyway, MUFON director of abduction research. His assertions of aliens kidnapping humans were frequently featured in his appearances at MUFON events and his articles published regularly in the MUFON Journal.

Most relevantly to Leah Haley, she met John Carpenter as the direct result of seeking help from individuals and organizations claiming to provide quality, scientific investigation and much needed emotional services. That is exactly how Haley wound up in the Springfield, Missouri, office of a clinical social worker, reasonably assumed to be about to provide such services on behalf of the organization, MUFON, he represented.

What actually unfolded were repeated hypnosis sessions, numbering well into the teens and conducted throughout 1991. Haley's case file was later released by Carpenter with neither her knowledge nor consent. Carpenter was the lead hypnotist, Haley was the subject and the following events occurred.

Springfield

Haley initially drove from her home in Mississippi to meet Carpenter and his assistant in Springfield, Missouri. She later decided to make another trip via airline in May, 1991, for what would be her third hypnosis session.

There are of course a limited number of people who would have known (or been concerned, for that matter) Haley was flying to Springfield. I find that potentially interesting in light of what Haley reported took place at the airport.

According to Haley's book, Lost Was the Key, she encountered an ominous man at the airport in Springfield who, without reasonable cause, directly asked her about extraterrestrials. The interaction could be reasonably interpreted to have been intended to disorient Haley, as well as to likely frighten and intimidate her, for whatever reasons. In Lost Was the Key, page 65, she wrote:

Upon arriving at the airport, I called the hotel and asked the clerk to send their van to pick me up. The clerk replied someone had already called and the van was on its way. I walked to the door where the clerk told me to wait and noticed a man standing there alone.

“Are you waiting for the hotel van?” I asked.

“Yes,” he replied.

To pass the time, I initiated a conversation with this stranger. I asked him where he was from and what brought him to Springfield. He told me he was a salesman from Nashville and was in Springfield to interview for a position at a sporting goods store.

“What brings you here?” he asked.

“I'm here to do research concerning some personal experiences.”

“About extraterrestrials?” he asked.

I was stunned. Why would a stranger ask if my research involved extraterrestrials?

Why indeed, and in Springfield?

Haley went on to explain on page 66 that while the two were riding in the van to the hotel, the man directly suggested she tell him about her UFO experiences, which she did not. Haley further explained that, following the van ride, the two each checked into the hotel and she never saw the man again. The next evening, Carpenter, an assistant and Haley met at the Springfield hotel for what was her third hypnosis session.

I recently asked Leah if she continued to interpret the above referenced events happened as she originally described in Lost Was the Key. She confirmed that is the case.

During another trip to Springfield in July of 1991, Haley was repeatedly hypnotized by Carpenter. One of the hypnosis sessions conducted during the trip resulted in what became known as the “beach incident.”

The beach incident is all that is alien abduction 'investigation.' It is, at its very least, a byproduct of what happens when inadequate investigative tools are implemented by self-described experts who lack critical thinking skills and have long since drawn premature and inaccurate conclusions. At its most, and worst, it might be part of the story of an abused involuntary research subject. As we adjust our heads slightly and take yet another look at the shape-shifting beach incident, we might glimpse its potential value to sociologists, psychologists and future researchers of many disciplines, including military intelligence.

At best, such people had no interest whatsoever in identifying truth as compared to campaigning for the extraterrestrial hypothesis... It is certainly noteworthy the very people who once encouraged Haley to publicize her story and promoted her perspectives of alien abduction now prefer she keep her revised and
alien-less views to herself.

It is a fascinating example of how a story, originally propagated, conceived and cultivated entirely under hypnosis, can morph and evolve, pulling people into its wake and effecting them to astounding extents – and I am not referring to Haley. I am referring to the manners UFO enthusiasts and self-described investigators alike snatched up the beach incident and promoted it. At best, such people had no interest whatsoever in identifying truth as compared to campaigning for the extraterrestrial hypothesis and, in effect, their personal belief systems – with no care or concern for those hurt along the way. Apparently the only concern for some was to lead others to believe in aliens, trying desperately to further convince themselves in the process. At worst and as we will continue to explore, some investigators and promoters of the beach incident may have simply had ulterior motives.

I do not claim to conclusively know what we would find if we were somehow able to effectively isolate and examine each of the personalities and agendas making up the complex collage of events resulting from the hypnotically created beach incident. I do conclusively know some things we do not find, however, and among them are professional investigation, objectivity and sound lines of reasoning – all of which were originally advertised by the growing parade of facilitators, I urge the reader to recall and keep in mind as we proceed.

It is certainly noteworthy the very people who once encouraged Haley to publicize her story and promoted her perspectives of alien abduction now prefer she keep her revised and alien-less views to herself. At its most corrupt, the Haley case might involve organized covert and intrusive research. At its most innocent, the case is nonetheless and undeniably an example of how witnesses and their statements are exploited via an 'ends justify the means' mentality held by overeager UFO enthusiasts.

The beach incident, in basic terms, was an alleged experience retrieved via regressive hypnosis in which Haley was aboard an alien craft hostilely grounded mid flight by US military personnel. The hypnotically retrieved mental imagery suggested alien occupants of the craft executed an emergency landing upon an unidentified beach, where Haley and aliens then became the subjects of interest of the soldiers who downed them.

It is relevant, at least to Haley and some others who have been the subjects of UFO-related hypnosis proceedings, to understand the beach incident involved hypnotic imagery perceived as traumatic and accompanied by intense emotions. It should be clearly understood that while a hypnosis subject may over time develop any number of possible intellectual interpretations of imagery derived from a session, including discarding the supposed memories as false, the emotional challenges remain.

A somewhat accurate analogy might be to consider a movie you watched that emotionally upset you for whatever reasons. Perhaps the film was very scary, or maybe it dealt with subject matter you have personal reason to find very emotionally intense.

Now, intellectually you know it was just a movie, consisting of actors and scripts and cameras – but it still impacts you emotionally. Imagine, further, if that movie were specifically about you, and you watched yourself play the lead role in the disturbing film, all while having no recollection of ever being involved in the production.

That might provide somewhat of an accurate context of the very real and present confusion and emotional challenges that can remain long after imagery retrieved via hypnosis has been otherwise identified as all but certainly false. It might also provide context for more accurately understanding the likelihood the hypnosis subject experiences initial emotional vulnerability, complications of which increase the potential for exploitation by hypnotists with self-serving motives.

One might consider the difficulty of evaluating such mental imagery when the hypnotist and a growing number of supposed support-people are celebrating the revelations of alien abduction. One might further consider the courage it takes to announce the party is over.

It should be emphasized Haley revised her opinions concerning alleged aliens, now holding the perspective her experiences were the complicated results of covert mind control research. The human hypothesis for some reports of alien abduction involves complex dynamics that require a working knowledge of topics such as emotional trauma, the evolution of state-sponsored covert research projects and the evolution of research and development of non-lethal weapons.

Such a hypothesis and change in perspectives as Haley experienced do not, however, necessarily indicate Haley retracted all of her previous statements. Some have incorrectly concluded that to be the case, perhaps due to inadequate understandings of the subject matter.

“What I wish people would understand,” Haley recently stated about her revised perspectives, “is that the 'alien abductions' and other experiences I wrote about in Lost Was the Key, Unlocking Alien Closets, and various articles, did happen. They are true. None of that has changed. The only thing that has changed is that after devoting years of my life and substantial amounts of money to research the phenomenon and get to the bottom of it, I now understand what - or rather who - was the cause of all those experiences.”

More Mufonians

In October, 1991, Haley flew to St. Louis to attend a MUFON conference. According to Lost Was the Key, page 131, Haley and Carpenter met privately during the conference with “a group of ufologists” to discuss her “experiences with military/government agents.”

Haley informed me she was not planning on attending the conference but did so at the suggestion of Linda Moulton Howe. It seems LMH identified two individuals independently claiming to report experiences similar to those retrieved via hypnosis by Haley and Carpenter, and LMH wanted to get these people together along with additional researchers. The similarities in the reported experiences among the trio of witnesses specifically included perceptions of big-eyed, chalky-colored aliens and military personnel.

As Haley recalled, the private meeting conducted at the St. Louis MUFON conference in late 1991 was attended by George and Shirley Coyne, only one of the two witnesses LMH seemed to know, and a few others in addition to Carpenter, Moulton Howe and Haley. Moulton Howe requested permission to invite C.B. Scott Jones to the meeting but Haley does not recall if Jones attended.

Donald Ware

On November 23, 1991, just one month removed from the St. Louis MUFON conference and amid the many hypnosis sessions conducted by Carpenter, Haley made her first trip from her home in Mississippi to the Gulf Breeze, Florida, area. The trip included meeting then-MUFON Eastern Regional Director, Lieutenant Colonel Donald Ware, USAF, Retired. Ware was a member of the MUFON board of directors and resided in the vicinity of Gulf Breeze.

During the trip, Ware introduced Haley to Ed and Frances Walters, among other local UFO enthusiasts, sky-watchers and researchers. The visit and its details were established in letters and an appointment book Haley possesses, as well as Lost Was the Key. She wrote on page 132 she was told, in context of the beach incident, “the Joint Chiefs of Staff met at Pensacola Naval Air Station in August, 1988, and were escorted into a hangar that was under extremely high security and temporarily air conditioned.”

Remember that suggested date, August, 1988, of the alleged beach incident. It is going to come back up.

Haley developed the impression Ware might assist her in learning more about the now infamous beach incident because the event was suspected to have occurred on the Gulf Coast. This is the case at least in part because Haley previously vacationed along the coast, giving rise to suspicions the incident may have occurred during a trip to the area. It might then stand to reason to consult Ware, the then-MUFON Eastern Regional Director, as to possible events of interest occurring along the coast. It should be noted Haley suspected other dates of the alleged incident in addition to August, 1988, the date suggested during her first meeting with Ware. At any rate, I was interested in clarifying more details about how Haley initially met Ware and subsequently became involved with the Gulf Breeze UFO community.

Leah was very helpful and forthright in sharing information with me in an effort to reveal details of the chain of events, as has consistently been the case during my interactions with her. She informed me she located old letters indicating she requested Ware's contact info from both Carpenter and Moulton Howe. I contacted the involved parties in attempts to learn more.

Ware said Carpenter, among others, told Haley to contact him. Carpenter said he did no such thing.

Emails were sent to Linda Moulton Howe at her Earthfiles website address in attempts to obtain comment on her recollections of the Leah Haley Case. No replies were received.

In email exchanges with Carpenter I informed him Ware and others led me to believe he was instrumental in acquainting Haley with Ware. I asked what led him to believe Haley should meet Ware.

Carpenter replied he made no deliberate effort to acquaint Haley with Ware. “They met in Gulf Breeze,” Carpenter continued, “a favorite place for her to visit and meet with the local group.”

While I do not necessarily doubt Carpenter's sincerity on this specific matter (after all, it was a long time ago), his reply is simply inaccurate. Haley could not have become initially acquainted with Ware while hanging out in Gulf Breeze because, as established, Ware was the reason Haley traveled to the area in the first place. In other words, she already made contact with the man prior to ever arriving.

Haley recently stated she located letters suggesting she and Carpenter discussed Ware, resulting in Haley requesting Ware's contact info from Carpenter and Moulton Howe, which she received. Haley has a copy of a letter she then sent Ware, establishing contact and dated November 12, 1991. It was such discussions and letters that directly resulted in the November 23, 1991, meeting between Haley and Ware, regardless of how anyone may now recall or tell the story.

One reasonable interpretation would be that the MUFON board of directors, regardless of what additional people or circumstances may have contributed to the situation, did their ample part, essentially and for all practical purposes, in the manufacture of an alien abductee.

However one might interpret the details, the fact will remain that Haley's increasing involvement with MUFON, and specifically its board of directors, was a key and constant element during this critical portion of her story. There is no uncertainty in the positive identification of the facilitators of Haley's participation in hypnosis, the subsequent forming of fantastic assumptions and the resulting endorsements thereof. Members of the MUFON board of directors clearly encouraged and directly participated in each phase of the evolving situation and, as the reader will see as we progress, continued to do so in increasingly significant and questionable manners. One reasonable interpretation would be that the MUFON board of directors, regardless of what additional people or circumstances may have contributed to the situation, did their ample part, essentially and for all practical purposes, in the manufacture of an alien abductee.

Hold those thoughts. We will hear more from Ware and Carpenter later. The ways Leah came to think the beach incident occurred in the Florida Panhandle will come back up, as will one of its supposed dates, August, 1988, as Haley and Ware discussed during their initial meeting in November, 1991.

A Review

Let's inventory what we have on the table at this point:

Leah Haley wanted to learn more about a childhood experience involving memories of flying saucers and short term amnesia. At the suggestion of Budd Hopkins she ended up in the Springfield, Missouri, office of a MUFON director and clinical social worker, John Carpenter, participating throughout 1991 in multiple hypnosis sessions. The resulting mental imagery suggested Haley lived an entire hidden life – previously not known to her conscious psyche - of dramatic abductions and perilous adventures involving aliens and military personnel. One particular hypnosis session conducted by Carpenter gave birth to the beach incident, an alleged experience in which Haley seemed to have been aboard an alien craft downed by military forces upon an unidentified beach.

This led Haley to attend and network at a MUFON conference in 1991 in St. Louis. Shortly afterward she met in the Gulf Breeze area with Lieutenant Colonel Donald Ware, who sat on the MUFON board of directors and was the MUFON Eastern Regional Director. The purpose of the meeting, at least from the point of view of the aggressive and inquisitive Haley, was for her to try to learn more about the beach incident.

When Things Got Sirius

Those interested in claims of telepathic communication, a reportedly common occurrence during and surrounding alleged alien abductions and some UFO sightings, should find the evolution of non-lethal weapons technology of interest. Dr. Robert Becker wrote in 1985 about experiments conducted by Dr. Joseph Sharp at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research. Sharp used an analog pulse to beam an otherwise silent and inaudible word directly into the human brain, perceived accurately by the recipient. In effect, Sharp successfully created what could be interpreted as 'telepathic communication.'

Becker further explained a research group at Naval Aerospace Medical Research Laboratory had a continuing contract to study such technology. The Naval Lab was located in Pensacola.

Such work eventually led to developments in what became known as “voice to skull” technology, the ethics and uses of which continue to be highly debated. United States Patent 4,877,027, a “hearing system,” for example, declared sound was induced in the head of a person by using microwave pulses. The patent was filed in 1988.

On March 12, 1992, Leah Haley reportedly received a telepathic message stating her alien abductors were from Sirius. According to Unlocking Alien Closets, page 19, amid a dizzying onslaught of other concerning events, Haley “was startled by a (telepathic) message that 'they' were from Sirius.”

Subsequent research conducted by Haley revealed Sirius to be a star in the constellation Canis Major. I find this development curious.

In his work, The Controllers: A New Hypothesis for Alien Abduction, writer/researcher Martin Cannon cited the experiences of Project MKULTRA mind control victim Martti Koski. In the section titled, The Scandanavian Connection, Cannon wrote, “Koski, for example, was at one point told that the doctors afflicting him were actually 'aliens from Sirius.'" Koski also reported inexplicably hearing voices.

I recently asked Haley if she was aware, at least consciously, of Martti Koski. “Never heard of him,” she replied.

It gets more curious. In a September, 1991, Flying Saucer Review article titled, The Extraordinary Case of “Elizabeth Richmond” , authors Donald Ware and Robert Reid described events surrounding the alleged UFO-related experiences of a woman who apparently resided in Pensacola. The pseudonym Elizabeth Richmond was used for the woman.

This is the same Donald Ware previously mentioned. Co-author Colonel Robert “Bob” Reid, USAF, Retired, like Ware, was a MUFON field investigator, was a member of the MUFON board of directors and resided in the Gulf Breeze area.

A section of the Ware and Reid article about Elizabeth Richmond was titled, Telepathic Contact. The section began, “During later meditation sessions there was apparently some telepathic contact. Elizabeth was told that their home-planet belonged to the star Sirius...”

Are we to believe someone was leaving calling cards with a Sirius address?
And in the circles of Donald Ware and his fellow MUFON directors, no less?

Are we to believe someone was leaving calling cards with a Sirius address? And in the circles of Donald Ware and his fellow MUFON directors, no less?

On March 13, 1992, the very next day after Haley's reported telepathic message referencing Sirius, she documented another telepathic message. Unlocking Alien Closets, pages 19-20:

“My communicators told me to check out the beach incident; they indicated that it had occurred on Thursday morning, August 4, 1988, on Navarre Beach.”

You will recall Haley and Ware discussed August, 1988, as a possible time frame of the beach incident during their initial meeting. Haley wrote she had no idea at the time where Navarre Beach was located but, after conducting a bit of research, discovered it was in the vicinity of... Gulf Breeze.

Make of it what you will.

Whatever we make of it, the fact will remain the ambitious Haley indeed went on to pursue the beach incident. As a direct result of mental imagery derived from regressive hypnosis, combined with perceived telepathic messages containing quite curious details and suggestions, she was catapulted full on into the Gulf Breeze UFO community, all its short lived glory and all its long suffered sorrow.

That year, 1992, was very eventful for Leah Haley. On page 233 of Unlocking Alien Closets she described a meeting initiated by a man who said he represented a Washington intelligence official. Haley explained the man told her she was being monitored by multiple agencies. He further indicated, among other things, such agencies had conflicting agendas, resulting in a variety of possible good guy/bad guy scenarios.

In September of 1992 Haley made another trip to Gulf Breeze, at which time the beach incident effectively came out of the hypnotist's office and fully to life. Haley, Ware and Reid undertook what continues to be a most intriguing hike across Eglin Air Force Base, seemingly in search of an actual site an alien craft allegedly went down with Haley on board.

The Interesting, Eventful and Incredible Story of Commander C.B. Scott Jones

2012-02-04T16:18:00.003-05:00

The story of C.B. Scott Jones is one brimming with intriguing topics: UFO sightings, encounters with entities, military intelligence, the US Senate, exopolitics, disinformation, high profile members of the UFO community, mind control and more. You name it, it is very likely Jones has been on its trail, if not right in the middle of it at one time or another. Described as enigmatic, mysterious and a subtle mover and shaker, his activities have long placed C.B. Scott Jones among the more controversial names of ufology.

I emailed Jones to learn more. He cooperatively agreed to field some questions, of which I appreciate. Following are certain aspects of his story along with statements he provided during email exchanges.

Not Your Father's Peace Activist

Commander Cecil B. "Scott" Jones, US Navy, Retired, is the founder and president of the nonprofit corporation, Peace and Emergency Action Coalition for Earth, or PEACE. His bio on the PEACE website states the principal function of the organization is to "oversee the development of the global Center for Sustainable Peace and Development system." This seems to include enrolling the involvement of "academic, political, spiritual, military, intelligence and business leaders" in the planning and design of the Sustainable Peace and Development (SPD) program.

You might ask what that actually means. That is a good question.

The SPD, continuing to quote the PEACE website, is a project that addresses "consequences to peace, stability and growth when full disclosure of ET/Earth contact is made." PEACE and its SPD recommend the US President establish a cabinet-level "Peace Advisor," and that the President encourage other global leaders to do the same.

Additional PEACE lobbying activities include the proposal of a Constitutional amendment designating the President as the primary "Peace Maker of the United States." Doing so, according to PEACE and its suggested legislation, provides the President a legal basis to establish a "Department of Peace" and what is termed "the institutionalization of peace." While such proposals might sound concerning to some, PEACE asserts it is all necessary, or at the least recommended, due to complications bound to arise in the wake of disclosure of contact occurring between human beings and extraterrestrials.

In justification of such a platform, Jones explained, "I believe that a global pre-disclosure dialogue about the potential consequences of disclosure to each country and their cultures would reduce the shock that I believe will be associated with formal disclosure. This is discussed in my website under Plan C."

Plan C indeed contains details of the PEACE and Jones proposals, as well as reference to Laurance Rockefeller and "the CIA's Weird Desk Officer," Ron Pandolfi. Plan C also provides insight into the Sitchin-like views promoted by Jones and related to the alleged significance of such topics as the Anunnaki, Nibiru and the extraterrestrial tampering of the origins of humankind. Jones, his organization and his allies in exopolitics hope to enroll the support of global universities in teaching and promoting such plans.

"I continue to work with a few countries to get them to research and write a White Paper on the consequences of disclosure to them," Jones wrote, but added he is not close to success in the effort.

"The very successful U.S. counterintelligence program to make this subject a third rail for academe has really worked. It appears that some ET groups that want disclosure to be made have decided that it will never happen by earth action, and that they will cause disclosure to be an informal accumulative process by increasing the number of sightings."

You might now ask how, exactly, such a corporation and situation came to be. That is a very good question and, as is the case with so many similar questions within ufology, not one with as clear and absolute answers as we might like.

Who Is C.B. Scott Jones?

According to his bio, Jones earned an AB in Government from George Washington University in 1961 and an MA in Government and Politics from the University of Maryland in 1963. He received a PhD in International Studies from American University in 1975.

C.B. Scott Jones

His long and prestigious military career began in 1946 when he joined the Navy. His remarkable service included intelligence collection and support throughout Southeast Asia, the Middle East and North Africa. Jones was assigned to the Naval Scientific and Technical Intelligence Center where he headed the Missiles, Ordinance and Astronautics Division. In that position he oversaw the production of intelligence reports for the Navy and Defense Intelligence Agency at all classification levels. Jones chaired, supported and coordinated multiple inter-agency intelligence operations. He briefed the President's Scientific Advisory Committee and testified before House and Senate committees and sub-committees.

Jones retired from the Navy in the mid 1970's. Somewhere along the way, this accomplished career intelligence officer jumped into the deep end of the pool of ufology.

Ufology and Beyond

From 1985 to 1991 Jones was employed by Senator Claiborne Pell of Rhode Island. Jones was hired as a member of the Senator's staff for the quite remarkable stated purpose of studying paranormal phenomena, as reported in 1990 by The Washington Post.

In another early 1990's article titled, Will the Real Scott Jones Please Stand Up?, writer/researcher Robert J. Durant called Jones "the most ubiquitous character in ufology and parapsychology," a reference to his significant involvement in both fields. Jones was a regular attendee of related conferences during the 1980's and 1990's. He was as aware of the trending stories and activities of the high profile players as practically anyone anywhere.

Reports, such as referenced by Durant, have long indicated Jones claimed to experience a UFO sighting involving a "silver disc" and a later "parapsychological" event during his Navy career. More recent reports suggest Jones tends to narrate alleged fantastic experiences involving intelligent non-human beings, the memories of which were recovered with assistance from psychics and hypnotists.

Jones wrote that such experiences were a revelation and described them as his now 83 years of "personal contact with ETs." He added he does not discuss the experiences in detail.

What does Jones think is the most significant event in ufology?

"This is the U.S. strategy of denial and disinformation about all things ET," he stated, describing such a cover up as ongoing.

Calling the strategy one of the most amazing policies ever encountered in the modern era, he continued, "It suggests that the economic gain from it must really be huge. We will find out some day."

Jones held the position of what was termed the MUFON consultant in international relations for a while beginning in 1989. He served in key roles with many additional organizations, including founding the Center for Applied Anomalous Phenomena and president of the American Society for Psychical Research. He was also president of the Human Potential Foundation, a nonprofit corporation he co-founded with Senator Pell in 1989.

According to the PEACE website and writer/researcher Philip Coppens, the Human Potential Foundation received major funding from Laurance Rockefeller. Activities included the studies of the social effects of alien contact and the most effective methods for lobbying Congress. In November of 1998 the Foundation was dissolved and the continuation of its principle interests was undertaken by the Peace and Emergency Action Coalition for Earth.

In Your Face Disguise

The controversial circles of C.B. Scott Jones included Colonel John Alexander, Major General Albert Stubblebine and Dr. Rima Laibow. He accompanied them during their ufology-related travels and attended their presentations.

Jones was also reportedly involved with disinformation figures Richard Doty and William Moore, the latter of which stated during a presentation at the 1989 MUFON Symposium to have long been working as a "controlled informant" for the US government. Moore further told the audience he deceived a number of people along the way. Three years later, in 1992, Moore informed the UFO community during an interview he was still acting as a controlled informant, according to Durant and other sources, whatever we might make of such incredible occurrences.

When I asked what Jones would say to individuals who might suspect his presence and activities in ufology have been indicative of operations conducted on behalf of the intelligence community, Jones stated the issue rarely comes up in a one-on-one situation.

"When it does I easily agree that everyone has a right to their own opinion. I simply affirm the truth about my life on this subject. It certainly does not deserve or need any energy investment on my part to defend the truth. This issue is not important to me at all. It has never come to the point where I felt that legal action would be required because I was being slandered or libeled."

Demonstrating his now long time practice of modesty and apparent preference for others to take the spotlight, Jones concluded on the topic, "The fact is that I am not that important a player in the field."

One of the more intriguing events in the remarkable saga of C.B. Scott Jones can be found during his employment in the office of Senator Pell. In an October, 1990, article titled, Hearing It Backward and published by The Washington Post, writers Tom Kenworthy, Maralee Schwartz and Barbara Vobejda reported on the reprimanding of Jones by the Senator.

Jones apparently sent a letter to then-Defense Secretary and future Vice President Richard Cheney, questioning whether President Bush and other officials were using a code word during speeches about the Persian Gulf situation. The strange chain of events included copies of the letter sent anonymously to news organizations. The contents of the remarkable letter included Jones describing theories surrounding hidden meanings found in select tapes of speeches when played backward. Pell reportedly took issue with Jones lacking permission to write Cheney, resulting in the reprimand.

Jones long claimed to know nothing of any activities conducted by the US government in the field of ufology. The situation, according to Jones, was that he could find no evidence the powers that be were involved in matters related to UFOs. While we might rather easily think of an event or three that contradicted such an assessment, including some circumstances considered right here in this post, this is evidently because Jones appears to primarily consider such things from the perspective of his apparent interest in alleged aliens. He does not seem particularly interested in government involvement in ufology as compared to specific involvement with ET, as demonstrated in his response to my request he clarify his stance on what he thinks about government activities in the field.

"I was never briefed into any government UFO/ET programs. During my assignments in Naval intelligence and while working for Senator Pell, a total of twenty-one years, I was most attentive to that possibility, but it never happened. Therefore my reply on this issue is that I do not have any personal knowledge about U.S. official UFO/ET programs."

Jones added he believes some sincere whistle blowers have disclosed details of actual US government UFO/ET programs. "While I am sure that I will never be offered to be briefed into these programs," he explained, "I would not accept the offer. That would keep me from doing my global peace work, most of which now is intimately involved with issues of disclosures."

Although Jones stated he had no knowledge of government UFO/ET programs, he has publicly discussed circumstances of other types of alleged government involvement in ufology. During a 2008 presentation hosted by Austin (Texas) MUFON, Jones tackled the mind control issue.

As posted on the Austin MUFON website and recently confirmed by Jones, he claimed during his presentation to believe writer/researcher and friend Michael Drosnin was targeted by the FBI with an incapacitating electronic mind control device. Jones further claimed he advised Dr. John Gibbons, science advisor to President Clinton during the time in question, of such matters.

Jones informed Gibbons, "There are reasons to believe that some government group has interwoven research about this (mind control) technology with alleged UFO phenomena. If that is correct, you can expect to run into early resistance when inquiring about UFOs, not because of the UFO subject, but because that has been used to cloak research and applications of mind-control activity.”

When asked if he continues to think the UFO subject cloaks mind control research and applications, Jones replied, "I think that the UFO/ET subject has been used to cloak a number of classified U.S.programs that certainly includes mind control. It probably has been used more often to confuse and disguise aerospace weapon systems than other subjects. It has been particularly effective when there is a presumed close relationship between what is trying to be protected and assumptions about characteristics associated with UFOs and ETs.

"For example, in my first visit to the old Soviet Union, Senator Pell asked me to find out what research the Russians were doing in the field of psychic phenomena. The first research institute I visited was publicly known to be involved in this area. What I discovered was that they also were tasked to look into the issues of UFOs and ETs. The lab director explained that so much of what they had learned about UFOs and ETs appeared to be psychic in nature that it was logical to research both areas together."

New MUFON Captain on Priorities and Hypnosis

2012-01-25T16:23:00.004-05:00

David "The Captain" MacDonald will become the next international director of the Mutual UFO Network effective February 1. MacDonald is experienced in MUFON leadership roles, including sitting on the current board of directors.

According to MUFON, MacDonald is a successful businessman, currently operating a school for pilots and aircraft dispatchers. He is the owner/operator of a charter airline, Flamingo Air.

I emailed MacDonald and congratulated him on his recent appointment as international director. I inquired if it would be okay to ask him a few questions, to which he agreed. Below are my questions and his responses, of which I appreciate him taking the time and attention to provide.

What do you identify as your most urgent and top priorities in your role as MUFON international director?

To continue to increase and improve the professionalism, stature, efficiency and financial well being of the organization.

What are you currently most pleased about MUFON?

The fact that it is the largest, most prestigious and well known UFO investigating organization in the world.

What are you least pleased, or most concerned, about MUFON?

Training of Field Investigators and State Officers. Much more needs to be done and we are working on it.

The MUFON mission statement reads, "The scientific study of UFOs for the benefit of humanity." How would you evaluate the current MUFON execution of scientific study of UFOs, particularly as commonly represented in the MUFON Journal and its symposiums?

Since we are the only major organization that actually investigates UFOs, I say we are doing quite well. However, as stated above, there is a lot of room for improvement.

What is your stance on MUFON providing public platforms for individuals who use hypnosis as a primary investigative tool and as was recently the case when MUFON LA hosted and promoted David Jacobs?

As of this writing I have not even officially taken office. Therefore I prefer not to comment on issues of which I have not been fully briefed on. However, I will state if a chapter wishes to host a speaker to make a presentation on any investigative procedure, be it hypnosis, photo analysis or evidence collection, as it relates to UFO investigations, I have no problem.

What is your stance on MUFON chapters continuing to promote and practice hypnosis as a memory retrieval tool?

To me, the key word is tool. We do not promote the use of hypnosis. Rather, we accept its use, under stringent requirements and prerequisites, as a tool to aid in the discovery of latent memories. MUFON has considerable guidelines governing the use of hypnosis including a section of the training manual dedicated to ethics in investigations.

Our Aliens Are Better Than Your Aliens

2011-12-26T08:30:00.015-05:00

News reports indicate renewed global efforts are underway to prosecute Nazi war criminals remaining at large. Some US-based organizations support the efforts.

Those not afflicted with conspiracy-phobia will be reminded of Operation Paperclip, a confirmed post-World War II US intelligence project in which Third Reich key personnel were targeted for recruitment. Select Nazi scientists were provided asylum in the States in exchange for their contributions to American intelligence interests. “Our Germans are better than your Germans,” went the Cold War era running joke between the CIA and KGB.

The New York Times published further details of such recruitment efforts and related issues in a 2010 article titled, Nazis Were Given 'Safe Haven' in U.S., Report Says. The article, written by Eric Lichtblau, provides key details of a 2006 US Justice Department 600-page report, The Office of Special Investigations: Striving for Accountability in the Aftermath of the Holocaust. The report, heavily redacted by the Justice Department prior to its release, was obtained and subsequently published in its entirety by the Times.

Further concerns might be raised by the fact US-based funding entities, including the Rockefeller Foundation, financially aided eugenic research conducted in pre-World War II Germany and elsewhere. This has long been accepted as fact among historians and as reported on George Mason University's History News Network, among any number of sources defined as credible by the professional research community.

Now, any self-respecting realist will find nothing surprising about world powers demonstrating double standards. Most of us are all too aware politics courts hypocrisy, so let us move along to further considerations of how such circumstances might be relevant to ufology.

Progeria and Genetic Testing

A couple years ago, a valued associate and good friend, Iza, known on line as stiver, brought Progeria and its implications to my attention. She contributed substantially to my understandings of the following information.

Progeria is a rare childhood genetic disorder, typically including an enlarged head and absence of hair, in which accelerated aging occurs. According to the Progeria Research Foundation, the disorder is due to genetic mutation.

Dolly's taxidermied remains.

Iza studied other evolving genetic research, including cloning. She noted the curious similarities between symptoms of Progeria and certain clones, such as Dolly the sheep, the first mammal cloned from an adult cell. Dolly developed arthritis and other disorders common to much older sheep, resulting in her premature death at the age of six years, only about half the life expectancy of the average sheep. Essentially, Dolly died of old age while still young, Iza noted, just like those stricken with Progeria.

If any doubts remain that intelligence officials would take serious interest in genetic research, consider a BBC report about cloned cattle. Scientists observed in six cloned cows what was literally termed reversed aging! The cows simply aged at a significantly slower than normal pace.

A small number of UFO and alien abduction researchers have considered the implications of Progeria and genetic research. Some of their resulting work is reasonably well conceived while some leaves more than a bit to be desired.

Nick Redfern tried to raise awareness of relevant possibilities. He wrote about Progeria and related circumstances in some of his books, as well as posted about it on UFO Updates List. Redfern wrote the List, “And I still find it interesting that I found files – forwarded to the Nuclear Energy for Propulsion of Aircraft people at Oak Ridge and the Biology Division at Oak Ridge, no less - in 1947 on radiation experiments undertaken that summer on people with Progeria.”

I find it interesting, too. I also find it interesting that those diagnosed with Progeria so closely resemble descriptions of supposed human-alien hybrid beings as described by alleged alien abductees. Let us explore such things and the potential ties to Oak Ridge, also known as Atomic City and as cited by Redfern, a bit further.

Covert Research

A 1977 article titled, Private Institutions Used in CIA Effort to Control Behavior and published by The New York Times, delved into mind control experiments perpetrated by the American intelligence community during Project MKULTRA. Among other noteworthy items, the article cited some 25 years of covert experiments conducted at colleges, medical institutions and research facilities, funded by nonprofit organizations acting as conduits for the Central Intelligence Agency.

During the 1990's the Clinton administration established the Advisory Committee on Human Radiation Experiments. The committee was created to investigate allegations involuntary human research subjects were deceived and abused during radiation experiments, some of which were alleged to have been perpetrated by MKULTRA personnel. The committee ultimately concluded an estimated 11,000 people were treated negligently by the US government in the course of radiation experiments, some of which were fatal.

The advisory committee heard testimony, sometimes absolutely horrific in nature, from individuals claiming to be victims. One such self-described victim was Suzanne Starr, a woman who, among other nightmarish allegations, stated she was subjected to an induced pregnancy resulting in her baby boy being taken from her, presumably for further experimentation. One reasonable interpretation would be that a primary difference between testimonies narrated by Starr and those narrated by some possible alien abductees is that Starr blamed CIA operatives for her abuse rather than aliens, whatever that may or may not ultimately indicate.

It should be noted that certain MKULTRA victims, some of which were indeed conclusively verified to have been among those abused during the notorious operations conducted at Allan Memorial Institute in Montreal, claimed to have observed pathetically mutated individuals at the facility. The details and existence of such alleged mutated individuals cannot be confirmed and may of course indicate circumstances other than actuality in at least some instances. My point being there are demographics in addition to alien abductees that describe experiences similar to that of abductees, including allegations of extensive testing, including genetic, the circumstances of which have historical precedence and substantially more likelihood.

All things considered, if a claim of a stolen fetus or ominous encounter with a child having wispy hair, large eyes and an enlarged head were to ever be substantiated, could we sincerely look one another in the eye, with full knowledge of factual information such as cited in this post, and say space invaders were really the most likely explanation? Really?

Relatively Recent Deaths of Famous Musicians

2011-12-23T13:40:00.016-05:00

Many of us in the UFO community develop tentative understandings of one another largely based on our interactions that can be rather one-dimensional and therefore create incomplete assessments of each other. While our UFO-related discussions may represent our interests in ufology, we are multifaceted individuals with diverse interests. More complete understandings of our personalities, life experience and resulting views of ufology, and views of most everything else, for that matter, might be found by exploring additional, yet somewhat related, subject matter.

In an effort to periodically promote more diversity and versatility, I invite readers to currently join me in considering the work, lives and creativity of some musicians who relatively recently passed away. I find the topic interesting and I simultaneously find a related subject of interest: the manners our opinions and beliefs are sewn throughout our interdependent personal interests. Discussion and comments are encouraged, as always.

Gerry Rafferty is best known for hits such as Baker Street and Right Down the Line. He left us in 2011, perhaps to join the Higher Power he described calling out to in City to City, my favorite Rafferty song. Goodnight and go on home, Gerry...

Bruce Springsteen and his E Street Band suffered an irreparable loss when sax player Clarence "Big Man" Clemons passed away in June of 2011. The Big Man loyally collaborated with The Boss for decades, and perhaps fans will most remember him for his now-legendary contribution to Jungle Land. I have often thought if the feeling of being a young man, with all of its passions and nostalgia, had a sound, this sax solo would be that sound.

Unless one happened to appreciate the genuine talent of Amy Winehouse, they might be more likely to recall Winehouse's battles with her demons than anything else about her. However, she accomplished the holy grail of being authentically creative within an industry where musicians struggle endlessly - and quite uniformly - to be unique. While committing tragically ironic mistakes, such as rebelliously singing about refusing to go to rehab, the young woman nonetheless displayed a style and torch voice not paralleled for generations.

Winehouse was adored by her fans for both her original work as well as her interestingly creative covers. Those who loved her will indeed still love her tomorrow, regardless of mistakes she made, while the rest, who fail to realize such eccentric characteristics are simply par for the course among such personalities, never understood people like Winehouse in the first place.

During decades of tragedies both relatively unavoidable and self-induced, the dwindling number of surviving members of southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd emerged and evolved. The year 2009 saw the loss of piano and keyboard player Billy Powell, whose talents were long time staples of Skynyrd hits. In addition to his outstanding musical ability, Powell will be remembered for courageously taking the role as a physically and emotionally battered spokesperson in the wake of the infamous and devastating plane crash of 1977.

Perhaps nowhere among the often broken lives and bones of the music industry are life's tragic and glorious ironies more observable than in the remarkable saga of Lynyrd Skynyrd. American writer Ernest "Papa" Hemingway once said, "The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong at the broken places." True enough, I'd say.

Play it pretty for Oakland...

Lyn Buchanan: Military Intel and 'Alien Abductee'

2011-11-26T18:50:00.000-05:00

Lyn Buchanan is retired career military intelligence and a self-described alien abductee. He claimed to have experienced a psychokinetic event at the Intelligence Field Station in Augsburg, Germany, some six years before the Gulf Breeze Six brought attention to the base. I contacted him to learn more.

Summary

Sergeant Lyn Buchanan initially joined the Army as a young man and, according to the bio on his website, he became a computer expert, working on Nike guided missile systems. During a 12-year break in service, Buchanan apparently earned a BA in Psychology, a BA in Linguistics and an MA in Linguistics Psychology. He re-entered the Army in 1974 and became employed in military intelligence as a linguist.

Former home of the Gulf Breeze Six and their
701st Military Intelligence Brigade at the
US Intelligence Field Station in Augsburg, Germany.

Buchanan's long second stint of duty included serving four years at the US Intelligence Field Station in Augsburg, Germany, the same base where the Gulf Breeze Six went over the wall in 1990. It was in 1984 at Augsburg that Buchanan experienced what he described as a “psychokinetic” computer-related anomaly. As the story goes, the anomaly caught the attention of Major General Stubblebine himself to an extent the general oversaw the sergeant's transfer to a remote viewing unit located in Fort Meade, Maryland.

At that point, a lot depends on who you choose to believe as to what took place, as self-appointed movers and shakers of the remote viewing crowd often agree on very little other than the activity is of monumental importance. Other than that, many of them bicker and fail to agree on such basic aspects as how to correctly execute the activity, who is qualified to teach it or what it should even correctly be called.

As Buchanan's story goes, it was while he was employed with the remote viewing unit that he recovered memories of what he claims to believe was an alien abduction. The abduction event happened some 25 years prior, during the 1960's, according to Buchanan.

Sergeant Buchanan retired from the Army in 1992. He worked for a brief time with Major General Stubblebine, but the venture apparently did not work out. Buchanan continues to hold Stubblebine in the highest regards.

Buchanan eventually founded and continues to operate Problems>Solutions>Innovation, or P>S>I, of Alamogordo, New Mexico, where he provides training in his brand of controlled remote viewing and related services. Much about remote viewing operations was declassified in 1995, paving the way for former participants to speak publicly about select subject matter while launching private companies that market remote viewing products and services.

Details

I contacted Sergeant Buchanan to inquire about the many interesting aspects of his case. I appreciate his willingness to interact with me and field my questions. Whatever we may choose to think about his statements, I appreciate he provided the statements. I initially asked about the computer incident in Augsburg.

Sergeant Lyn Buchanan

“Well, it wasn't at all like the scene in 'The Men Who Stare At Goats' movie,” he replied.

“I had spent a little over two months writing a program,” Buchanan continued, “which would tie together the work of the 12 different countries who used the field station. That way, they could share intelligence and not duplicate each other's work. There was another sergeant who had wanted the programming job, but I got it instead. When it came time to demo the program, the highest brass from each of the 12 countries were in the room. I gave my intro and then turned to the mainframe computer terminal and hit the enter key. The screen went dead and everyone started laughing. I turned and saw the other sergeant standing at the door. He pointed his finger at the computer, then at me, and mouthed, 'Gotcha!!.' I got flaming angry. I've had PK (psychokinetic) ability since I was about 12 years old, and I knew what happened when I get angry at someone. I quickly turned back to the computer, and the computers all over the station burned out.”

This, as legend has it, contributed to Major General Stubblebine developing a specific interest in the sergeant and sending him to Fort Meade, Maryland. Buchanan further described, “I was a much needed replacement for Joe McMoneagle, so they were glad to have me. However, they also knew that I was there out of default. General Stubblebine had wanted to use me to start a military unit that could destroy enemy computers - then later learn how to simply control the data and programming within them. When Congress decided that that was too much like mind control, they wouldn't fund it, so I basically had no assignment to go to. So, General Stubblebine put me into the CRV (controlled remote viewing) unit, instead.”

It was during his time in the CRV unit that Buchanan claimed to have recovered memories of an alien abduction. He described himself as having long suffered from nagging feelings he was forgetting something, claiming to repeatedly check his house for forgotten items prior to leaving. “Over the following years (after the abduction),” he explained, “it became chronic, and I couldn't leave the house without going back to check the gas, the lights, the locks, etc. One Sunday, about 25 years after that, my wife and I were on our way to church, and I had gone back into the house 5-6 times to check on things. She chided me, 'Did you check the basement? Did you check the lights? Did you check the back yard?' The minute she said 'back yard,' it all came flooding back to me. It was overwhelming. That's when the event and the details of what happened during my abduction came flooding back to me."

Describing the abduction, Buchanan stated, “When I was a student minister in East Texas, back in the '60s, I was moving from one parsonage to another (Methodist ministers move from church assignment to church assignment every few years or so). My family had already moved to the new parsonage, and I was cleaning out the old one, getting it ready for the incoming minister. It was late at night and I was tired, so I put a pallet down on the floor and laid down to take a nap before driving to the new house. The parsonage was WAY out in the country, about a half mile from the nearest road, so it was totally isolated. About that time, I heard something land in the back yard. I tried to get up to see what it was, but was frozen. I thought that it could be a 'flying saucer,' and decided that I could go out back and take a picture of the ground the next morning to prove it. But right then, I couldn't move. Then, I heard some 'people' coming around the house to the front. The next thing I knew, it was morning and I was wandering around the house in a total daze. When I finally came to my senses, I picked up the pallet, threw it into the UHaul and drove away. From that time on, I kept having the feeling that I had forgotten something.”

What does Buchanan think was most important about the event?

“It happened. There are other things that came from remembering the event and from the events that followed after I remembered, but those things are not open for the public, yet.”

Buchanan explained that he discussed the memories to various extents with the remote viewing unit, going as far as asking them to remotely observe the occurrence. He claimed “their findings confirmed it.” He also claimed one of the unit members “told on” him to "the powers that be." This, Buchanan suggested, resulted in formal questioning. “The following week,” he continued, “I was approached by 'the men in black' (who are just interrogators, not aliens), and I learned something from them that confirmed that it was true. About a year later, I got further and more complete confirmation.”

When asked if there was anything else in particular he thought we should know, Buchanan had quite a bit to offer. He wrote that his general attitude on aliens is 'they are there, but so what?'. He added, “As a result of my experience and what came from that first interrogation, I've been exposed to a lot more ET-related material and incidents, most of which nobody knows about, and probably never will. But again... so what?”

Buchanan claimed he was once commissioned to compose a paper to determine possible relationships between psychic ability and aliens, and he suggested this might be of interest to readers. After what he termed “a fairly long study of unsolved cases of abductions, sightings, events, etc.,” as well as “a lot of things that didn't make it into the 'Blue Book Report,'” he claimed to have come to believe there are multiple kinds of aliens, possessing various extents of psychic abilities and executing a variety of agendas, visiting earth. Conceding it was conjecture, Buchanan stated he believed a key point was that humans have little psychic ability, yet a lot of psychic range (across planets or even the universe), while some aliens have a lot of psychic ability, but very little range (they must be in the immediate vicinity of a person to psychically manipulate them).

Concerns

I asked Sergeant Buchanan what he would say to those who might ask why he thinks he has been provided confirmation and “further and more complete information,” as he stated, when individuals such as Colonel John Alexander continue to claim they can find no such evidence. I asked if Buchanan suggested we should doubt Alexander's sincerity, consider him 'out of the loop,' or some other possibility.

“There are two key (terms) in your question,” Buchanan cryptically replied, "'claim' and 'some other possibility.'"

Responding to what he would say to individuals who might question why we should believe those who allegedly provide him information, Buchanan stated he probably would not answer because “the information is mostly still classified.” He added, however, that “an accidental exposure of information” occurred during one circumstance, and he claimed to later have been provided “physical proof.”

"There are a lot of questions I can't or won't answer,” Buchanan concluded, “and a lot of accusations that I won't be able to defend, simply because of the situations, agreements, and promises I have made. I am a VERY strong supporter of the fact that there are many things which should remain secret. And in spite of what the tabloid says, nowhere in the Constitution or any law does it state that 'the people have a right to know.' But frankly, I would be disappointed in people if they didn't question just about everything they hear. There probably won't be a lot of proof available to the public in our lifetimes, but that doesn't mean that people shouldn't continue to demand it. If you don't continue to demand it, you'll never get it. The people may not have the right to know, but there's a lot of it that, in my opinion, they have the need to know.”

Bottom Line

I want to emphasize my appreciation for Sergeant Buchanan's willingness to address my questions. He is prepared to have his story and statements scrutinized, and that traditionally bodes well. Buchanan wisely goes as far as to empathize with those who might, at most, be no more than willing to suspend judgment pending verifiable proof of his claims.

I think the story here is that the story even exists. I leave it up to readers to form their own perspectives but, in my opinion, the bottom line is that members of the military intelligence community indeed took ongoing interests in ufology, or at least they keep talking about it, and that in itself is a potentially key piece of the puzzle. In many circumstances we simply have no current means of knowing which ones of them are sincere, dishonest, manipulated or even just doing their jobs as instructed. Until such a time as we do know, we are simply left to debate and speculate, and such is the stuff of exercises in futility.

The goings ons in Augsburg during the 1980's and into 1990 should keep researchers busy for quite some time. The events surrounding Project STAR GATE additionally have enough implications and possibilities to keep curious researchers reading Gary Bekkum for generations to come.

Yet the situation will remain that we cannot form a legitimate conclusion until verifiable data allows, all of which brings us back to the previously identified pink elephant in the room of ufology: We cannot thoroughly and accurately assess UFO-related circumstances until we know the extent the intelligence community was involved. We cannot compose an accurate program for the play until we know who deserves primary credit for the production.

Here, in the cases of Sergeant Lyn Buchanan and Colonel John Alexander, we have two men who literally served in the same command of Major General Bert Stubblebine and his paranormal-related projects, yet the two provided us virtually completely conflicting information. One, Buchanan, claimed to have spent a virtual career interacting with the likes of men in black and various insiders who were not only well aware of an alien presence, but provided him confirmation. Contrastingly, Colonel Alexander claimed to have searched high and low for such evidence, ultimately claiming no such evidence exists and that no one is even so much as charged with obtaining and protecting it. With tongue planted firmly in cheek, I write that perhaps we should introduce Buchanan and Alexander....

My exploration of the labyrinth of UFO Land and my resulting study of the intelligence community sometimes bring to mind the words of Heinrich Heine, a 19th century writer and German expatriate. He is credited with the statement, “Wild, dark times are rumbling toward us, and the prophet who wishes to write a new apocalypse will have to invent entirely new beasts, and beasts so terrible that the ancient animal symbols of St. John will seem like cooing doves and cupids in comparison.”

Will You Ask the Right Questions When the Time Comes?

2011-11-15T13:53:00.007-05:00

David Jacobs, PhD, will be a guest speaker tonight, Tuesday, November 15, at MUFON Los Angeles. This has bloggers such as Jeremy Vaeni and Regan Lee outraged the retired historian continues to be taken seriously in any capacity whatsoever of abduction research, going as far as suggesting a boycott of MUFON.

Considering the well documented chain of events that took place between Jacobs and his former research subject Emma Woods, the outrage is quite understandable. For further details about his confirmed abuse and extremely questionable actions that took place, see UFO Magazine, Paratopia and Emma's website, among any number of such places.

A Word About the Mutual UFO Network

We should all take notice of a 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation, claiming to be dedicated to the scientific study of UFOs, that repeatedly conducts activities that directly contradict scientific methods and critical thinking. MUFON has a direct responsibility to present the public with scientific and credible information, at least according to its mission statement, yet repeatedly and blatantly shirks such responsibility. The shirking of responsibility is demonstrated in Filer's foolish files, any given symposium speaker line up and, most recently, providing Jacobs a platform to pedal his unsubstantiated and grossly premature conclusions.

Certain MUFON leaders making a laughing stock of the scientific process and contradicting objective investigation is nothing new to the ufology landscape, whatever the reasons may ultimately be for such occurrences. Such occurrences leave each of us within the UFO community a choice, however; a choice that challenges us to inventory our own qualities, and decide our own extents of integrity, objectivity and sincere desire to know the truth.

Dr. Tyler Kokjohn

Dr. Tyler Kokjohn is a professor of microbiology and author of the article, Tainted, Toxic and Taboo: A Scientist's Assessment of Alien Abduction Research. He is an active participant in Project Core, an initiative designed to produce accurate and objective data about reported paranormal experiences, and he recently created the short film clip, Alien Abductions in Black and White, which I will provide below.

Dr. Kokjohn is well experienced and professionally qualified to provide relevant questions as contained within the video. He challenges us, the UFO community, to demand accountability of our leaders and speakers.

I agree with his implications that if a self-described researcher desires to present guesses or preferred beliefs, correctly identifying them as such, it is simply up to the audience as to whether or not they might choose to attend and eventually agree. However, if a researcher asserts himself as an authority on a topic such as alleged alien abductions, and attempts to convince an audience that he has conclusive evidence to support his extraordinary claims, the issue arguably becomes if the audience members have the integrity and courage to request professional authentication for the claims.

As Dr. Kokjohn so aptly points out in the video, it is common practice within the professional research community to openly share information such as research methodology and personnel. Disclosing such details as data gathering methods, data analysis and identification of facilities involved are also simply par for the course in professional research protocol. It is entirely reasonable to request such information from those claiming to conduct research, much less claiming to be in a position to provide fantastic conclusions.

Do we have the integrity and courage to hold those accountable for such information that try to sell us their unsupported and premature conclusions? We must each make that choice.

I have no particular desire to suggest people boycott MUFON or the outlandish 'researchers' the corporation so commonly supports. I do have a desire, however, to inspire you to make your own choice about what you will do when the time comes to decide if you will ask the right questions. What you choose to do is up to you, and it has a lot to do with whether or not you sincerely want the truth.

The Leah Haley Case: The Pink Elephant and a Sample of Comments

2011-11-05T20:50:00.003-04:00

As we continue to consider the Leah Haley Case, her perspectives and the overall implications of it all, a significant issue emerges that should be of interest to members of the UFO community far and wide. Whether you are an experiencer of the apparent paranormal, had a UFO sighting, a researcher, a casually interested party or any other such individual that spends time learning about the likes of Haley, Woods, Redfern and company, a certain point of consideration arises. This certain point is a part of the Haley Case, but is by no means exclusive to it.

Whether or not we want to collectively accept and discuss it, the fact will remain that we will never be able to accurately assess the significance of events such as reported UFO sightings and alleged alien abductions until we know the entire extent the intelligence community is involved in ufology. To avoid considerations of the evolution of human technology and covert psychological operations, while investigating and contemplating reports of UFO-related events, is comparable to omitting the influence of the Catholic Church from considerations of the 17^th century witchcraft phobia.

At the very least, we should give serious consideration to the extent the intelligence community manipulated public perception while authoring UFO and abduction lore. Intelligence interests have been well documented and demonstrated in circumstances such as the Maury Island fiasco and the supposed contactees of the 1950's.

I am not necessarily suggesting covert operations account for all reports of UFO-related activity. Neither am I so much as remotely implying all paranormal events can currently be explained. A marvel of science is that it continues to expand and discover.

However, as long as we largely refuse to regularly address the Big Brother pink elephant in the room of ufology, truth and objectivity will continue to suffer. This reaches far beyond Leah Haley or any other given case.

We have been duped on a mass scale. Such distortion of truth has not only been the multiple-decades work of the intelligence community, but also the doings of an increasingly exposed group of frauds, unforgivably masquerading as trustworthy researchers. Were it not for such ongoing and deceptive influence, an entirely different prevailing perspective of paranormal phenomena and unexplained aerial phenomena would have most certainly developed. Most certainly.

Comments

A number of people chose to voice their opinions thus far about the Leah Haley Case and related circumstances. A certain percentage of such opinions have been hostile and caustic, but such instances are largely the same handful of people repeating their views in some way or another.

Contrastingly, a much larger group of people have expressed intelligent and thoughtful support of Leah's willingness to voice her perspectives, as well as my efforts, regardless of what their personal opinions and perspectives might be. The supportive majority is simply not as prolific as the often belligerent and irrational minority.

The following comments are a sampling taken from emails, forums, blogs and various websites since I began writing about the Leah Haley Case:

It’s good that you are having some supportive and thoughtful input, it is a subject that, as you know, attracts some very polarized views. I think the key is more and more research…

Well, this is getting a bit redundant here, but - Thank You Jack! I'm very interested to read the rest of this series.

To say that alien abductions are the result of mind control experiences is hurtful to me personally as someone who has suffered with having to cope with alien abductions all of my life. This idiotic, childish statement negates all that I have been through.

I've been interested in Leah Haley's experiences for years, and her recent statements about abductions have been provocative, and caused some controversy. But then, it seems to me, her announcement was dropped by most who say they're interested in what goes on in UFO Land. I find that very odd. I have no idea if Haley is right, on to something, or what, but it's worth some serious perusal. Thankfully, Jack Brewer is keeping the story alive.

Thank you for this very interesting post, Jack. It is quite scary to think of the implications.

If she now believes some sort of mind control or manipulation has occurred then it's something to look into. The reason being is that mind control/manipulation is a scientific fact having been used by military, criminals, advertising and just about everyone to some degree or another...
The technologies involved haven't been scientifically studied except over the past 100 years and the possibility that some people have been manipulated into thinking they've been abducted is just as much fair game as any. This is a powerful area of research and looking into the subject matter is astounding.

Okay I read some of Leah Haley and this is all the time I'm going to waste on people who believe UFOs and abductions are a CIA/Military conspiracy... If you could figure out it was all smoke and mirrors, “disinformation” sitting on your ass behind a computer, writing clever drivel to your blog, wouldn't the other side see the same thing as well?

I think the discussion provides credible information that such activities have played a role. It would seem that a variety of factors are probably causative in the perception of an alien abduction.

First, I would like to state when I worked at UCLA in the Department of Human Subject Protection I began researching the subject of mind control. I was, after all, working at one of the institutions where MK-Ultra programs were designed, created and implemented. After years of investigative research, which included using the Biomed Library where I could read the same papers and books the doctors and staff had read, I decided to make an appeal to the National Institute of Health to call a halt to still on-going mind control projects. Leah Haley was one of the first to send me her story and request to the NIH to stop the projects. Therefore, I have to guess that Leah was contemplating, or staying open-minded, as to just what her experiences involved.

You are an interesting person and are most likely not the person you present your self as... I think that you tend more to hide things than to develop them to the logical conclusion... I think that you may work for a group designed to cloud things rather than shed light on them... I have the truth in my hand

Leah is a friend and a very brave woman...always has been with a sound mind on her shoulders. It took a lot of courage to say what needed to be said. I do hope legislature does stop illegal human experimentation...it is so widespread and people do not even see it. I am proud of her for her remarks in the interview...

As awful as the implications are, what you're proposing makes much more sense than alien abduction. I could never buy the premise in the first place, and I'm no stranger to seemingly paranormal events. But I've always felt the answers to this phenomenon would come from the experiencers themselves. More and more mention the human presence within experiences and I don't think that is something one can ignore.

Keep up the good work, Jack! Looking forward to more. Fascinating and long overdue.

Wow, she finally did it. At our local UFO Expo years ago, I spoke to her about what I'd learned about mind control experimentation and how it was changing my own opinion of what had happened to me during my missing time experiences... Ever since then, I've waited for her to go public, because she's always struck me as a very honest woman. I'm so glad that she's made what must have been an extremely difficult decision, given her high profile in the abductee community...

And it will be interesting to see how her change of heart will be received in the abductee community and how the gurus will spin it--maybe by attacking her character or impugning her sanity. My guess is that most abductees will either ignore it or explain it away somehow in order to keep their belief systems intact... I've lost much-loved friends over their deep-seated need to not look behind the curtain. I have a lot of compassion for them, but I hope that Ms. Haley's statement is the thing that wakens them from their long alien dream.

I encourage further discussion of the Leah Haley Case and its implications.

The Leah Haley Case: The Intelligence Community

2011-11-01T01:42:00.006-04:00

This is one in a series of posts on the Leah Haley Case.

Exploration of the Leah Haley Case and the fateful weekend of July 6, 1990, leads to Gulf Breeze, Florida. In order to more completely grasp the impact the Gulf Breeze supposed flap had upon ufology and subsequently Haley, let us first consider the manners the intelligence community asserted itself into ufology and Gulf Breeze.

The Gulf Breeze Six

There may very well not be a more curious chain of events within ufology and abduction lore than the story of the Gulf Breeze Six – and that's sayin' something. Writer/researcher Philip Coppens has a well presented summary of the saga in which quality references and supporting documents are provided.

In early July, 1990, Specialist Vance Davis and five more National Security Agency intelligence analysts, consisting of four men and one woman, went AWOL. As the story goes, they were under the direction of aliens and the Virgin Mary, armed with supposedly divine instructions to save the world from the anti-Christ and certain ruin. The GB6 abandoned their posts in West Germany, at what was at the time the largest NSA base in the world outside the States. The six mysterious deserters then somehow evaded arrest while flying to Chattanooga, Tennessee, and purchased a van they drove to Gulf Breeze, Florida.

They claimed to have experienced direct interactions with extraterrestrials and religious icons. They additionally claimed to have regularly communicated with such entities via a Ouija board. The GB6 seemed to have prophesied, studied their claimed paranormal experiences in depth and left long, detailed notes behind that described their claimed beliefs of the impending end of the world and their intentions to save it.

The Chicago Tribune reported that Vivian Johnson, one of the contacts of the GB6 who resided in Tennessee and assisted them in purchasing the van, stated it was “supposed to be Rapture time.” Johnson further stated that the six led her to believe they were on their way to greet an alien spacecraft on the shores of Gulf Breeze.

The apparent deserters were eventually taken into custody by local law enforcement officers in Gulf Breeze on July 14 and July 15, 1990. They were, for whatever reasons, curiously near the site of the eventful MUFON 1990 International UFO Symposium described in my previous post, The Leah Haley Case: Life-Changing Saucers and a Fateful Weekend. The arrests created numerous questions related to why military or federal authorities did not apprehend them, particularly considering their cross continental journey took them through international airports.

The maximum possible punishment for their actions, according to the Chicago Tribune, included dishonorable discharge and three years of confinement. A judgment was handed down three weeks following the arrests that the GB6 would be discharged with full honors. You read that right: discharged with full honors.

The incredible case caught the attention of VIPs, however, including Senator Bob Dole and General Colin Powell, resulting in deliberations that revised the initial ruling. The GB6 were subsequently reduced to the lowest rank and docked a half-month of pay.

By all interpretations, the circumstance was a personnel catastrophe and security compromise of extreme proportion. However, the following year, 1991, the 701^st Military Intelligence Brigade was awarded the prestigious Director of the National Security Agency's Travis Trophy. The unit was recognized as having made the most significant contribution in signals intelligence in the entire nation, second to none.

We will probably never know exactly what happened to the Gulf Breeze Six. Books have been written and interviews have been granted, but we will likely never conclusively know what they each honestly believed. It is doubtful we will ever learn the extents some or all of them may have been manipulated, whether or not any of them may have been involuntary research subjects, or if the entire story served as some kind of cover for psychological operations of which some or all of them may have been well aware.

I do not claim to have the answers to the implied questions. In order to continue exploring such possibilities, and how they may relate to Leah Haley, we might take a closer look at the intelligence community.

I am not accusing any officers or officials of any wrong doing. I only wish to accomplish presenting a reasonable argument that further research is justified into the likelihood that phenomena such as formerly reported by Haley may in some circumstances be attributable to quite human-instigated events.

Major General Albert “Bert” N. Stubblebine III

MG Stubblebine was prominently featured in Jon Ronson's, The Men Who Stare at Goats, a book about the Army's attempts to explore and ultimately use the paranormal to create weapons and related military applications. Stubblebine graduated from West Point in 1952, a time that we of course now know the intelligence community to have been extremely dedicated to perfecting mind control techniques, and the man went on to an accomplished career in military intelligence.

Among other points of interest, Stubblebine was largely credited with initially developing the technique of remote viewing. He was an integral part of the CIA-funded Project STAR GATE, an initiative that explored such psychic phenomena as remote viewing and overlapped with mind control operations.

Stubblebine extensively delved into psychological operations, including neuro-linguistic programming, a controversial activity that has been used as a subliminal persuasion tool and continues to incite debate. He pursued such lines of research on behalf of military intelligence interests and with his long-time associate, Colonel John B. Alexander.

Stubblebine retired in 1984 as commanding general of the US Army Intelligence and Security Command. He formerly led the Electronics Research and Development Command. Stubblebine was inducted into the Military Intelligence Hall of Fame, largely due to having been credited with completely restructuring the intelligence architecture of the entire US Army.

He is married to Dr. Rima Laibow, a ufologist, proponent of the use of hypnosis as a memory retrieval tool for self-described alien abductees, and who was lecturing at the MUFON symposium during the fateful weekend of July 6, 1990. The command of MG Stubblebine formerly included responsibility for the 701^st Military Intelligence Brigade, which was the unit of the Gulf Breeze Six. Vance Davis claimed during a Coast to Coast interview to have directly spoken with Stubblebine on multiple occasions prior to Davis going AWOL. The two were apparently acquainted, at the least.

Colonel John B. Alexander

According to Jim Harold and Colonel John Alexander on The Paranormal Podcast, Alexander gave his first presentation on flying saucers in 1947 and joined the Army in 1956. He served extensively throughout Southeast Asia as a Green Beret during the Vietnam War. His impressive career in military intelligence included acting as a consultant to the CIA and Washington officials.

“Mr. Non-Lethal,” as Alexander came to be known due to his lobbying on behalf of research and development of non-lethal weapons, studied psychic phenomena in professional capacities and at length with MG Stubblebine. While earning the status of a renowned non-lethal weapons expert, Alexander was simultaneously delving extensively into the UFO community, including sitting on a Robert Bigelow/NIDS advisory board.

The Bigelow camp was the driving force behind the Carpenter Affair. The Affair took place when mental health counselor, MUFON alien abduction researcher and hypnotist John Carpenter was persuaded to sell Bigelow the case files of 140 clients, including Leah Haley, without the knowledge or consent of the clients.

Alexander's work became a point of interest to investigative journalist Sharon Weinberger, author of the book, Imaginary Weapons: A Journey Through the Pentagon's Scientific Underworld. She wrote an article titled, Mind Games, published by The Washington Post in 2007, presenting certain accusations of mind control as well as an interview with Alexander. Weinberger wrote:

...John Alexander, one of the people whom Harlan Girard holds personally responsible for the voices in his head, is at a Chili's restaurant in Crystal City explaining over a Philly cheese steak and fries why the United States needs mind-control weapons.

A former Green Beret who served in Vietnam, Alexander went on to a number of national security jobs, and rubbed shoulders with prominent military and political leaders. Long known for taking an interest in exotic weapons, his 1980 article, "The New Mental Battlefield," published in the Army journal Military Review, is cited by self-described victims as proof of his complicity in mind control. Now retired from the government and living in Las Vegas, Alexander continues to advise the military. He is in the Washington area that day for an official meeting.

Beneath a shock of white hair is the mind of a self-styled military thinker. Alexander belongs to a particular set of Pentagon advisers who consider themselves defense intellectuals, focusing on big-picture issues, future threats and new capabilities. Alexander's career led him from work on sticky foam that would stop an enemy in his or her tracks to dalliances in paranormal studies and psychics, which he still defends as operationally useful.

In an earlier phone conversation, Alexander said that in the 1990s, when he took part in briefings at the CIA, there was never any talk of "mind control, or mind-altering drugs or technologies, or anything like that."

According to Alexander, the military and intelligence agencies were still scared by the excesses of MK-ULTRA, the infamous CIA program that involved, in part, slipping LSD to unsuspecting victims. "Until recently, anything that smacked of [mind control] was extremely dangerous" because Congress would simply take the money away, he said.

Alexander acknowledged that "there were some abuses that took place," but added that, on the whole, "I would argue we threw the baby out with the bath water."

But September 11, 2001, changed the mood in Washington, and some in the national security community are again expressing interest in mind control, particularly a younger generation of officials who weren't around for MK-ULTRA. "It's interesting, that it's coming back," Alexander observed.

While Alexander scoffs at the notion that he is somehow part of an elaborate plot to control people's minds, he acknowledges support for learning how to tap into a potential enemy's brain. He gives as an example the possible use of functional magnetic resonance imaging, or fMRI, for lie detection.

[...]

Alexander also is intrigued by the possibility of using electronic means to modify behavior. The dilemma of the war on terrorism, he notes, is that it never ends. So what do you do with enemies, such as those at Guantanamo: keep them there forever? That's impractical. Behavior modification could be an alternative, he says.

"Maybe I can fix you, or electronically neuter you, so it's safe to release you into society, so you won't come back and kill me," Alexander says. It's only a matter of time before technology allows that scenario to come true, he continues. "We're now getting to where we can do that." He pauses for a moment to take a bite of his sandwich. "Where does that fall in the ethics spectrum? That's a really tough question."

When Alexander encounters a query he doesn't want to answer, such as one about the ethics of mind control, he smiles and raises his hands level to his chest, as if balancing two imaginary weights. In one hand is mind control and the sanctity of free thought -- and in the other hand, a tad higher -- is the war on terrorism.

Weinberger began Mind Games with the opening line, “If Harlan Girard is crazy, he doesn't act the part.” In spite of such observations, Alexander has long asserted mental illness as virtually the sole explanation for why some people report themselves to be victims of mind control and, more specifically, directly name him as their abuser in some cases.

Alexander is most certainly correct some of the time, as the mental health community indeed recognizes belief of being harassed by covert government agencies as a symptom of certain mental disorders. I present for consideration, however, that Alexander's ongoing suggestions that all claims be dismissed as those of the delusional does not adhere to neither rationality nor critical thinking.

This is the case because we conclusively know such involuntary human research subjects exist. It is therefore not reasonable to suppose all who claim to be suffering from such trauma are incorrect. It is a contradiction in logic.

Alexander further suggested during a relatively recent podcast interview that all members of the Gulf Breeze Six are crazy. I take issue with such an assertion for no less than two reasons:

One, I find it very difficult to accept they all coincidentally took leave of their senses at the same time - at least not unless a specific stimulus caused it. While a solid argument can certainly be made that a disturbed individual may be extremely talented in the art of persuasion, hypothetically leading others into the land of comets and Kool-Aid, such an argument nonetheless takes us to...

Two, I simply cannot accept without question how their collective behavior could have snowballed and escaped evaluation within a high profile National Security Agency facility. After all, Major General Stubblebine himself seems to have known then-Specialist Davis, and these were not your garden variety Army deserters. They were military intelligence analysts who claimed contact with aliens and divine entities on an NSA base. This, in itself, is absolutely extraordinary.

The possibilities should motivate ambitious researchers for years to come: non-lethal weapons testing, mind control, spy games, and considerations that such operations spiraled out of control. The implications are nearly as broad as interesting.

In the end, I think we must consider the significance of how the Gulf Breeze Six and their superiors were in the business of paying attention, particularly to potential security breeches and weak links in the chain. Any way we might choose to look at it, I cannot accept without question how such personnel could have been spending their time playing with a Ouija board and narrating stories of alien visitations without the NSA taking significant responsibility for the situation.

Major General Stubblebine and Colonel Alexander were exemplary soldiers, regardless of their involvement in controversial operations, and they were apparently ahead of their time. They were creative thinkers, at least as would be described within a military world which does not traditionally produce or reward 'idea men.' They each gave their country what it asked of them - whatever, exactly, it may have been that was asked. It is unfortunate we will never know the entire extent the Stubblebine-Alexander generation of intelligence officers shaped our global culture. Neither will we ever know the extents we might approve or disapprove of their activities, because we will simply never fully know what they did.

Future Topics

In order to more thoroughly grasp the potential significance to Leah Haley of the events that emerged from July of 1990, we might consider how her life unfolded thereafter. Those were eventful times in UFO Land. About the same time the Gulf Breeze Six were reportedly perceiving themselves to have been developing a relationship with the Blessed Virgin in June, 1990, a hand-held model of a UFO, bearing a striking resemblance to alleged craft photographed by Gulf Breeze front man Ed Walters, was found in the attic of Walters' former home. Meanwhile, the UFO community was continuing to flock to Gulf Breeze and greater Pensacola. Haley, too, would eventually become a part of the incredible saga of Gulf Breeze, but not before contacting Budd Hopkins.

Haley contacted Hopkins shortly after the weekend of July 6, 1990, when she had visited the home of her parents in Alabama and discussed her childhood UFO sighting. Hopkins referred her to mental health counselor turned hypnotist and case file salesman John Carpenter, who hypnotized Leah throughout 1991. She made her first trip to Gulf Breeze by 1992, leading to a series of interesting and bizarre interactions with a wide variety of people.

I am suggesting that further research is well justified into the likelihood the Gulf Breeze UFO craze involved planned and orchestrated psychological operations. I am further suggesting the members of the UFO community Leah came to know may have been involved, either knowingly or inadvertently, to various extents in such ops. I present for reasonable consideration that if such circumstances are in fact the case, Leah Haley, as well as other Gulf Breeze researchers and self-described experiencers, may have become pawns. They may have become unwitting participants in a game they never even suspected was taking place until they were deeply involved, and of which a majority of them remain unaware or silent, at least publicly.

The Leah Haley Case: Life-Changing Saucers and a Fateful Weekend

2011-10-23T20:28:00.001-04:00

This is one in a series of posts on the Leah Haley Case.

The weekend of July 6, 1990, would forever change the life of Leah Haley. It was during that fateful weekend that she participated in a conversation with her mom and brother in which the three revisited a UFO sighting from many years prior. The sighting was discussed, unanswered questions were considered and a chain of events continued to unfold that was first set in motion many years earlier when Leah was a child.

Personal Paradigm-Shifts

Those who have not personally experienced the manner a UFO sighting can alter life and perspectives may find the occurrence difficult to understand. For whatever reasons, dramatic sightings may effect individuals quite profoundly, eventually causing them to become completely immersed in the UFO phenomenon and its sub-culture. In select circumstances, as was the case with Leah Haley, the original sighting may occur when the witness is a child and is not considered at length until well into adulthood.

A gradual, yet escalating and eventually quite profound, shift in perspectives may occur. The now-adult witness may find them self re-evaluating the childhood sighting, asking family members related questions, and undertaking extensive self-examination and introspection in efforts to clarify exactly what took place. It is not uncommon that, while they hope each new initiative will reap conclusions and finality, they actually become more deeply involved in the unfolding mystery, and more committed to its pursuit, with each progressive leg of their investigative journey.

The potential profound shifts in values and perspectives can simply not be overemphasized. It can be ironic, rewarding and contrastingly tragic that the witness may become totally absorbed in investigating their sighting and the related circumstances. One attempt to gather information (and one resulting compromise of previously held priorities) at a time, the witness may become virtually completely transformed, for both better and worse.

With each passing step, the witness may choose to continue because they have already given such effort and invested such resources in the previous steps, and it is only at some point well into the journey they may acknowledge it may have been wiser to have never undertaken the quest. It is many a transformed truth seeker, however, that by that point in time, develops the realization life has forever changed. They realize that whether or not they would have made the same choices in hindsight, the choices have now been made and there is no going back. Their previous lifestyle, priorities and loved ones may become but memories.

To thoroughly understand such dynamics provides insight into some of the lives and thoughts of those who experience UFO sightings as children. In this particular context, it might provide a bit more accurate perspective of how a girl, who saw some saucers in the sky, became Leah Ann Haley.

We may objectify and pontificate about the people and witnesses of ufology, but that does not change the fact that their lives were a gradual progression to their current conditions. Leah Haley did not set out on an intentional career path to become labeled a crazy mind control lady. It was after one choice at a time and one event at a time, including a divorce and severed relationships with various friends and loved ones, she became who we know her as today. I can well understand how and why, at this stage of her journey, she makes the choices she makes.

I hope my interest in her case and my empathy for her perspectives gives her at least some small feelings of vindication, acceptance and accomplishment. Regardless of what ultimate conclusions may lie ahead of those who boldly, and perhaps sometimes foolishly, attempt to pull the sword of truth from the stone of ufology, I support Leah's efforts and integrity.

I do not claim to conclusively know extensively what happened to Leah Haley. Neither do I claim to have conclusive evidence that human-instigated activities and/or research projects are to blame for some reports of alien abduction; I simply believe a reasonable and competent argument can be made that further research is justified into the possibility.

Following is more of the Leah Haley Case as I understand it.

The Childhood Sighting

It was during the Fourth of July week of 1990, as documented in her books, that the life of Leah Haley seems to have taken a sharp turn into UFO Land. Haley's children were at camp when she traveled to the home of her parents in rural Alabama to visit with family. Her childhood UFO sighting was subsequently discussed.

It seems that one afternoon while Leah was a girl living with her family outside Birmingham, Alabama, multiple disk-shaped craft were witnessed by Leah, her brother and a neighbor. The event included now-fragmented memories that hint at non-ordinary states of consciousness, potentially the results of any number of possible circumstances or combinations thereof.

Interestingly, the discussion that took place during the weekend of July 6, 1990, was inspired by a local newspaper article which included an accompanying photo of a UFO. Haley recalled the article addressed the possible threat of UFOs, and an ensuing conversation led to considerations of the childhood sighting that occurred many years earlier near Birmingham.

The article and subsequent discussion launched Haley's investigation that went on to take her down a 20+ year winding path that included dramatic changes in perspectives, contact from mysterious strangers and a wide variety of interactions with high profile members of ufology, among other noteworthy occurrences. Intriguing as that may all be, there were additional interesting events that were shaping UFO Land that very weekend, the weekend of July 6, 1990; a weekend that, for whatever specific reasons and purposes, forever changed a woman's life.

MUFON Symposium

The MUFON 1990 International UFO Symposium was themed, “The Impact of ET Contact Upon Society,” was held in Pensacola, Florida, and took place the weekend of July 6, the same weekend Haley and family held their discussion that eventually dramatically changed her life. This coincidence was unknown to Haley until I informed her of the dates of the symposium during a conversation we had during March, 2011. She evidently never knew.

While Haley and family reminisced in Alabama about saucers of yesteryear, and as motivated by a newspaper article published July Fourth week, 1990, about potential UFO threats, Mufonians were coincidentally gathering in Pensacola, preparing for contact with ET. The UFO craze originating in nearby Gulf Breeze, a suburb of Pensacola, was on full tilt. The symposium speaker line up therefore naturally included Ed and Frances Walters of Gulf Breeze sighting and abduction fame, questionable as their fiasco may have eventually become. According to archived MUFON Journals, additional presenters included then-abduction guru Budd Hopkins, now conclusively demonstrated by Carol Rainey to have both committed and endorsed fraud during his traveling side shows, and Dr. Rima Laibow, advocate for the use of hypnosis as a memory retrieval tool and wife of career military intelligence officer Major General Albert “Bert” N. Stubblebine III.

The site of the conference was originally the Pensacola Hilton, where the event began but was transferred to the nearby Pensacola Civic Center. The Director's Message, July, 1990, MUFON Journal, stated in part:

Due to air-conditioning problems in the ballroom of the Pensacola Hilton, the Saturday and Sunday events were transferred to the beautiful Pensacola Civic Center, across the street, where the overflow crowd could be better accommodated to the satisfaction of over 850 attendees.

In the same Journal, Dan Wright wrote:

Perhaps most important was the foresight of chairpersons Vicki Lyons and Charles Flannigan to engage the professional services of Bill Richards to handle all electronic needs. For, what transpired in the final 36 hours before the Saturday AM opening of the sessions would have stymied other host committees.

Imagine being in their position when informed at that late hour that the hotel auditorium's air conditioning system has failed and cannot be rectified in time. Then, having quickly secured an alternate site, but in need of major electronic enhancements, you make all the arrangements only to have the truck carrying the equipment involved in a serious accident that destroyed the sensitive items.

No doubt with aspirin bottle in hand, Mr. Richards somehow saved the day, while other committee members hastily prepared notices as to the alternate site.

Yet another chain of events was set in motion that same weekend. This additional situation is, by any definition, extraordinary. A group of six National Security Agency soldiers, possessing high level security clearances, went absent without leave under most bizarre circumstances.

The group stated they believed themselves to be in contact with aliens and the Virgin Mary. Their former unit, the now-disbanded 701^st Military Intelligence Brigade of Augsberg, West Germany, specialized in electronic warfare techniques. Details of exactly when the group abandoned their posts are difficult to obtain, but they seem to have gone AWOL somewhere between Friday, July 6, and Monday, July 9, 1990. Reports vary, as do testimonies of when and where the individuals were seen during the weekend in question.

However, we do know where and when they surfaced. We also know their unit fell under the former command of Major General Stubblebine, who's wife, you will recall, was speaking at the MUFON symposium. These reportedly runaway electronics experts, military intelligence personnel and, if we are to believe their sincerity at the time, self-described contactees, were taken into police custody on Saturday, July 14, and Sunday, July 15, 1990, in none other than Gulf Breeze, Florida. They were literally down the street from the site of the problem-plagued MUFON symposium. Enter the Gulf Breeze Six.

The Human Hypothesis for Some Reports of Alien Abduction: Trauma, Covert Research Projects and Non-Lethal Weapons

2011-10-15T16:53:00.004-04:00

The human hypothesis, or HH, is nothing new to ufology, unpopular and disproportionately omitted from discussion as it may be. Sincere and sober researchers have long acknowledged that it only stands to reason that a certain percentage of reports of stunning flying objects and their breath-taking aerial maneuvers would be quite earthly, as opposed to extraterrestrial, advanced aircraft.

The HH and its implications to the abduction phenomenon, however, are more difficult to bring to light. To proceed with relevant considerations, we might first explore emotional trauma.

The Traumatized Abductee

Severe emotional trauma may physiologically alter the brain, the medical industry informs us. The effected part of the brain is directly related to critical thinking and mental abilities such as interpreting time lines and the accurate recollection of events.

It is not only possible, but should be expected, that an extremely traumatized individual cannot accurately recall certain events. Additionally, their inability to construct accurate time lines may result in not only an inability to correctly recall when an event took place, but incorrect perceptions that similar such events are recurring. Specifically, this means it is common to the point of being considered probable that a traumatized and untreated individual can construct an inaccurate perception of an event and incorrectly perceive it is happening again and again.

I am directly suggesting a percentage of self-described abductees are, in fact, terribly traumatized individuals in need of treatment and of which never had anything particularly out of the ordinary happen to them. I am suggesting that, yes, they had horrific events befall them, but, no, not particularly uncommon events or alien abductions. I am directly suggesting some of them have confused their traumatic experiences with alien abductions, and that an overeager UFO community – and often its self-appointed experts - encourage such people to take the alien abduction ball and run with it. This is of course not a unique interpretation on my part, but one currently held by the professional mental health community.

To try to be clear, the rest of this post is not about such people who were traumatized by relatively common, all be them terrible, events, and came to incorrectly think themselves alien abductees. The HH is about individuals who may have truly experienced something unusual, and as a result sustained trauma.

A relevant question becomes what truly caused the trauma. Perhaps in some circumstances aliens or yet to be understood phenomena caused the trauma. I do not know, but the HH is, of course, not about such possibilities. The HH is about the possibility that quite human-instigated occurrences may have taken place in select cases and circumstances.

The traumatized people who are sadly confused must be acknowledged because their claims most certainly account for some reports of abduction. Furthermore, we must acknowledge emotional trauma because it potentially plays as large a role in the lives of those who may have experienced truly peculiar circumstances as it plays in the lives of those who did not. I am directly suggesting that the premise of the HH involves sustained trauma, the peer pressure the UFO community puts upon its members to carry the torch of the extraterrestrial hypothesis, and the subsequent manufacturing of what became known as alien abductees.

In order to more accurately comprehend the HH, we must consider how some people became extremely traumatized under unusual circumstances and at the hands of quite human beings. In order to more thoroughly understand how a person could become severely traumatized by their fellow human beings, and, then, to add painful insult to traumatic injury, waded into a UFO community that slapped them in front of a hypnotist and would only provide emotional support if they proclaimed them self an alien abductee, we must take a look at the past.

Much More Than Just Staring at Goats

During the 1940's in the United States, the intelligence community began what would become a no-holds-barred effort that lasted no less than into the 1970's to master “behavior modification,” or, by any other name, mind control. The use of hypnosis was initially explored. Projects BLUEBIRD, ARTICHOKE and a variety of classified initiatives evolved into Project MKULTRA.

Mind Kontrol Ultra combined the most experienced and educated people that CIA money could buy and coerce into experimenting on involuntary human research subjects. Some 140+ known sub-projects took place at 80+ known venues, including major universities, military bases, nonprofit organizations, hospitals, clinics, drug treatment facilities, correctional institutions and even brothels. The Agency went all in: drugs, hypnosis, implants, sex, electromagnetic frequencies, electricity, audio programming, toxic substances, the uses of syringes and aerosols, conditioned behavior, sensory deprivation, combinations thereof... If there was a possibility it might control thoughts and facilitate predictable responses, there was a sub-project somewhere with someone checking it out and subjecting unwitting individuals to it.

We only found out because they got caught.

CIA employee and MKULTRA project director Dr. Sidney Gottleib was called out on the Congressional carpet during the 1970's to account for his activities. He and other members of the intelligence community were called to Washington to explain such curiosities, among others, as why spooks had magicians on the CIA payroll (see 1977 Senate Hearing on MKULTRA, CIA Director Stansfield Turner's Testimony, page 42). While Gottleib and company evaded such questions and played a shell game about what was going on from one project to the next, Gottleib's instructions were carried out to have all 'ULTRA documents shredded.

Let us consider the memo, subject line, Request for Guidance on Handling Recently Located MKULTRA Material, dated 1977 and viewable beginning on page 106 of the Black Vault file linked here. The memo was composed by the director of the Office of Technical Service, CIA, and designed to inform the CIA deputy director that certain MKULTRA documents had been located. The memo addressed a request from writer/researcher John Marks for copies of any such documents, and advised the deputy director of a recommended course of action.

The memo provides confirmation that, about the time Congress began inquiring what was going on in the CIA, MKULTRA project director “Dr. Gottleib retrieved and destroyed all documents he was able to locate.” The memo further indicates that the remaining MKULTRA documents were not planned to be released to Marks until after having been subjected to adequate “review and sanitization.”

What the public eventually learned about MKULTRA and similar such CIA ventures into mind control never included what Gottleib destroyed. We never even got the real scoop. Furthermore, the story presented to the public, disturbing and heinous as it was and that resulted in concession on top of concession that cruel abuses were repeatedly perpetrated upon unsuspecting victims, was the sanitized version.

Meanwhile, John Marks continued his quest for truth. Marks utilized the Freedom of Information Act and employed legal counsel in eventually obtaining the remaining MKULTRA documents apparently missed by Gottleib. He extensively studied the approximately 20,000 pages of eventually released documents, sanitized as they may have been, and informed us of what he learned in his landmark work, The Search for the Manchurian Candidate.

Marks informed us that the emerging picture included a Central Intelligence Agency that delved extensively and for decades into the use of hypnosis and the intentional induction of trauma in order to create multiple and split personalities. The ultimate reasons included creating methods to solicit specific behavior unknown to the individual being programmed. The general research objectives included, essentially, further quantifying factors by which individuals suffer from the symptoms of trauma. It was generally reasoned that if circumstances befall people that result in extreme trauma and the symptoms thereof, then such circumstances could be intentionally created and administered, enabling intentional manipulation of the resulting symptoms and subsequent behavior.

It was demonstrated by Marks and future works inspired by his efforts, such as Martin Cannon's controversial The Controllers: A New Hypothesis of Alien Abduction, that the CIA extensively experimented with what was viewed as an expendable population at large in the pursuit of perfecting mind control methods. Such researchers suggested that project objectives included the ultimate creation of assassins, human 'carrier pigeons,' Special Forces personnel and the like who literally were unaware of their programming. One of the many potential benefits to the Agency and its associates of such project outcomes was the possible creation of operatives who literally did not know their orders. Such operatives could not reveal secrets of state - even if they wanted to do so – to potential interrogators, seductive spies or wealthy enemies because they were not consciously aware of the secrets. They literally would not know what was going on if programmers could perfect the intentional induction of false memories, creation of screen memories, and administrations and manipulations thereof.

Cannon pointed out the striking similarities between such research subjects and self-described abductees. After all, it was the abductees themselves who frequently described 'missing time' and screen memories, of which they feared were intentionally induced. Abductees also described having their abduction experiences of many years past only occur to them at later points in their lives, going as far as to often directly state they felt as if they had been living double lives of which they had been consciously aware of but one. Furthermore and as pointed out by previous researchers, it was, in fact, abductees themselves who described the presence of apparent military personnel during some of their abductions.

To tie all this together, at least up to the point Cannon arrived on the scene, as well as clarify my implications, I will offer some direct statements. I am suggesting certain victims of projects such as MKULTRA, due to the very nature of the research conducted, suffer from traumatic fragmented memories of their ordeals. I believe it is not only possible, but highly likely, that a certain percentage of such people wandered into the UFO community to seek answers to their questions; questions related to circumstances such as 'lost' periods of time while serving in the military, general episodes of missing time, unexplained body markings, fragmented memories of programming and so on. I am suggesting that such individuals may have been subjected to the creation of screen memories of alien abductions for purposes that served as cover for MKULTRA or similar such projects but, more importantly, served the project methodology and desired outcomes. This may have been the case because the ultimate purposes, as demonstrated by Marks and Cannon, included the ability to create personnel who did not know their orders and could not disclose them even if they wanted. I am further suggesting that upon arriving in the UFO community, such research subjects would sadly and regretfully be quickly met by ill advised yet supposedly helpful people eagerly informing them that experiences as described were indicative of having been abducted by aliens.

When individuals accept the reality of covert research projects such as MKULTRA, its sister projects and predecessors, and accept the nature of the research conducted, it becomes a virtual given that a certain percentage of the victims would wade into UFO Land, its abductee support groups, Internet forums and the like. It just stands to reason. I am convinced that, at the least, further research is justified.

A reasonable line of inquiry might then include wondering what happened to ufology and the abduction phenomenon since the time of MKULTRA. One might wonder if circumstances continued that might result in involuntary research subjects incorrectly concluding they were alien abductees. One might ask if the latter 20^th century included technology and circumstances that could be as easily correlated with the alien abduction narrative as in the case of the horrors of mind control experiments.

The answer is yes. A review of the evolution of non-lethal weapons and their electromagnetic frequency (EMF) technology reveals similarities between reports of alien abduction and overexposure to EMFs that demand serious consideration. As a matter of fact, a great deal of technology often incorrectly assumed to be beyond human capacity and therefore reported as alien may be, in actuality and all reasonable likelihood, quite human.

Non-Lethal Weapons

In his book, The Body Electric: Electromagnetism and the Foundation of Life, published in 1985, author Dr. Robert Becker offered some explanations about what was known at the time about the development of EMF technology. This included Allan Frey's discovery that pulsed transmissions significantly impacted living tissue, including enhancing the effects of drugs, bacteria and poisons. Frey further demonstrated methods to use EMFs to entrain and alter the heartbeat rates of frogs to the point of stopping the heart altogether.

Becker further presented mind-boggling results achieved by Dr. Jose Delgado, including manipulating the actions of monkeys to extraordinary extents. Delgado wrote in his work that the animals looked like electronic toys. Delgado went on to be infamously known for his controversial remarks to Congress, in which he stated that man does not have the right to develop his own mind, and that one day armies would be controlled by electric stimulation of the brain.

Becker explained how Dr. Joseph Sharp of the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research developed an analog pulse that successfully beamed an otherwise unheard word directly into the brain. Sharp had, essentially, created what would become voice to skull technology and, in effect, what could be misinterpreted as telepathic communication.

I find it difficult to accept without question that research involving involuntary human subjects and as took place during MKULTRA would be halted when such extraordinary accomplishments, as in the work of Frey, Delgado and Sharp, were being achieved. The similarities to events commonly reported by self-described alien abductees begins to materialize, and becomes increasingly evident, as we consider the work of investigative journalist Anna Keeler.

In her article, Remote Mind Control Technology, Keeler cited confirmed symptoms of overexposure to EMFs. Such symptoms include burned/reddened skin (even at night), memory loss, fatigue, insomnia, hallucinations and experiencing emotions with no contextual significance. The commonalities between such symptoms and abduction lore should be evident to those familiar with alleged alien abduction. What's more, such symptoms could result from research involving remote applications – no literal abduction required. Keeler's article takes readers through the mind control efforts of Project Pandora, as well as the initial uses of EMF technology by corporate America, and I recommend its reading.

Oxford graduate Dr. Susan Blackmore addressed alien abduction in her 1994 New Scientist article of the same name. Blackmore described first hand how measurable effects of magnets induced abduction-esque perceptions. “Suddenly prospects of magnetic mind control,” she wrote, “seem an awful lot worse than the idea of being abducted by imaginary aliens.”

Researchers at Project Censored, an ongoing investigative effort conducted by Sonoma State University, delved deeply into the likelihood of human rights violations during the evolution of EMF technology and resulting non-lethal weapons. US Electromagnetic Weapons and Human Rights, by Peter Phillips, Lew Brown and Bridget Thornton, was a comprehensive study completed in 2006 of the history of the US intelligence community, human rights violations and ongoing research and development of electromagnetic weapons. The trio cited illegal experimentation, cited weapons development and presented expert interviews while conclusively demonstrating the abilities of what have come to be known as non-lethal weapons.

We are indeed long past a point in which we should accept non-lethals as possible explanations for some circumstances commonly reported in UFO and abduction lore. Non-lethals, for example, offer potential explanations for failed electronic equipment, such as car electrical systems, household appliances and computers. Non-lethals also offer possible explanations for perceptions of unexplained lights, perceptions of non-human beings, losses of consciousness, 'missing time,' fragmented memories, voices in the head and similar such circumstances that seem to consistently be reported by those who consider themselves to be alien abductees.

While the UFO community lectured on alien mind control, hybrid breeding experiments and invasive medical examinations, human technology surpassed that of events being reported. What's more, quite human beings were conclusively demonstrated to have conducted activities of which the alleged aliens keep being accused, yet such circumstances are consistently omitted from discussion within the halls of UFO Land. While overzealous proponents of alleged alien abduction ironically and passionately continued to insist it would be absurd to suspect people would physically abduct other people, a time came and went in which literal physical abductions were even so much as required to complete the feasibility of the human hypothesis.

It is no longer necessary for involuntary human research subjects to so much as leave their homes to experience perceptions of alien abduction. It is neither necessary for them to interact with another human being nor be taken to a remote work station during the possible course of non-lethal weapons development.

The research subjects of yesteryear were indeed extremely traumatized by the intelligence community. I invite consideration this is the same intelligence community involved in such implications as the 'contactee' stories of individuals such as Adamski and Menger, the Maury Island fiasco, the saga of Paul Bennewitz, the circumstances of the Gulf Breeze Six and the mysterious Ron Pandolfi.

Trauma most certainly played a starring role in the evolution of both ufology and military intelligence. I believe it is likely that some research victims of yesteryear, both physically and mentally battered, waded into the UFO community and fit the profile well enough to 'become' alien abductees. While this may be accurate, circumstances have indeed progressed while many are too busy to have noticed due to patting one another on the back and exchanging assurances that their assumptions are correct.

I present for consideration that further research is justified into the likelihood the current reports of experiences of high strangeness and the accompanying symptoms of trauma among the witnesses may in some circumstances be the results of non-lethal weapons research and development. Combined with the ill advised influence of the UFO community, some of our present day abductees and their narrations may therefore be manufactured. This might be the case all while their experiences may, in actuality and as real as such experiences may be in one sense of the definition, largely be taking place on a mental landscape.

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The number of victimized citizens is difficult to estimate. Lawsuits continued well into this century that focused upon notoriously heinous and cruel MKULTRA events carried out at Alan Memorial Institute, formerly McGill University, of Montreal. Hundreds of plaintiffs, former 'psychiatric patients' at McGill, have been named and the US Department of Defense has shelled out millions of dollars in damages. A pending lawsuit in which Vietnam Veterans of America is suing the CIA estimates some 8,000+ military personnel were abused, including the administration of brain implants in some cases, during the MKULTRA reign at just Edgewood Arsenal military facility.

The Clinton administration launched a probe into allegations that members of the 'ULTRA crew, in addition to their delving into mind control, were responsible for widespread radiation experiments perpetrated upon unsuspecting and vulnerable research subjects. The President's Advisory Committee on Human Radiation Experiments subsequently concluded that an estimated 11,000 American citizens were treated negligently by their federal government in the course of such experimentation.

My point being there are a lot of people out there that conclusively got traumatized by Uncle Sam. We largely do not know specifically who these people are or how their emotional scars manifest, but we indeed know they exist.

We know who some of them are because they have been awarded damages. We know, for example, that Martti Koski was among the victims at McGill University in Montreal. We additionally know that Koski claimed his abusers mockingly called him “microwave man” due to the nature of the EMF tests of which he was subjected. He further claimed his abusers told him they were from the planet Sirius. While the significance of such claims can be debated, its potential relevance remains worthy food for thought.

Koski was initially noticed by authorities when he wandered into a police station while suffering from amnesia, having resided for days under a bridge. He was identified after his photo was published in newspapers. While such circumstances may be relevant to the UFO community for any number of reasons, a point comes in which I cannot help but consider that, while the abuse of involuntary human research subjects may well include some unwitting self-described abductees, the overall situation is of such potential magnitude that it arguably dwarfs the floundering field known as ufology.

Paratopia Launches Project Core

2011-10-04T12:49:00.001-04:00

Paratopia is ambitiously undertaking Project Core, a broad study into all kinds of reported paranormal phenomena. The initiative includes Dr. Tyler Kokjohn, Dr. Kim Cooper and Paratopia personnel Jeff Ritzmann and Jeremy Vaeni. In Jeff's words:

Project Core has Launched. For the next 10 months we will collect your stories and answers to questions. No, this is not a gathering of accounts for a book, film or anything else – only research into paranormal experiences and those who’ve experienced them. It’s an anonymous submitting process, but one that requires raw truth – no matter how odd or unbelievable. This is not exclusively a UFO/alien data collection process – ghosts, PK, ESP, non-human contacts, etc are all sought and welcome.

This is where we start over – and try to get to the Core.

Access the site through this link: Project Core

Until such time as we get an easier URL for the site, you can spread this link far and wide – it’s greatly appreciated.

http://paratopia.org/core/projectcore.html

Guiley Cancels Second Book with Imbrogno, Cites Fabrications and Plagiarism

2011-10-02T16:08:00.003-04:00

Rosemary Ellen Guiley has canceled a book deal with former co-author and fallen ufologist Philip J. Imbrogno, due to what she reportedly termed his outright fabrications and plagiarism on his part of the manuscript. When asked in an email to please confirm this was the case, Ms. Guiley replied, "That is correct, I made that statement," adding that the services of an attorney were enrolled after multiple attempts to address the situation went unanswered.

Guiley and Imbrogno formerly collaborated on The Vengeful Djinn: Unveiling the Hidden Agenda of Genies, but significant credentials of Imbrogno and his credibility were since called into question by Lance Moody on his blog, What the Hell Was That?. The second book to have been jointly penned by Guiley and Imbrogno, Multidimensional Portals, is now axed.

So much for the argument for us to never mind Imbrogno lying about his credentials as long as his work is good. It's not good, according to former co-author Rosemary Ellen Guiley.

Leah Haley on Alien Abduction: “It Doesn't Happen”

2011-09-17T01:43:00.001-04:00

Pensacola Beach, Florida, a short distance
from massive Eglin Air Force Base.

Former self-described alien abductee Leah Haley has revised her perspectives about her experiences of high strangeness to conclude that no alien abductions ever took place in her life. She now completely attributes her remarkable perceptions to having been an involuntary research subject. Commenting on literal alien abduction from her home in Pensacola, Florida, Haley stated, “It doesn't happen.”

Haley attracted widespread attention within the UFO community in 1993 with the publication of her book, Lost Was the Key, in which she described her extraordinary experiences consisting of fragmented memories of UFOs and apparent non-human beings. She became a well known speaker and was commonly sought for interviews. Ten years later she published Unlocking Alien Closets: Abductions, Mind Control and Spirituality, further documenting her descent into an increasingly complex web of deceit, disinformation and character assassination within ufology. Sales of her books climbed well into the thousands although word of mouth was virtually the only means of marketing.

Haley initially thought aliens were responsible for her experiences but that changed following years of investigation. She long acknowledged military personnel were involved in her experiences to some extent, but she fully re-evaluated circumstances after viewing select Freedom of Information Act and U.S. Patent Office documents. Haley further based her revised conclusions on hundreds of interactions with abductees and researchers, as well as having mysterious individuals enter and later abruptly vanish from her life. She is now thoroughly convinced mind control experiments are responsible for what became known as the alien abduction phenomenon.

“I really can explain every alien abduction away using human technology,” Haley said.

Commenting on what she termed “legitimate” reports of abduction, she continued, “I don't know for sure, but every case that I know very, very well – every single one of them – if I probe deeply enough, I'm going to find that there were humans here and there too. That tells me that it was a human-instigated situation. I can't think of a single case, not a single one, that I've really delved into that didn't have humans in it too, so I just don't think alien abductions are happening. I don't know, but I just don't think they are.”

Who Is Leah Haley?

The polite yet confidently direct woman who came to be embraced - for better or worse – by the UFO community said she was born in 1951 in Decatur, Alabama. According to her books, Haley earned a bachelor's degree in secondary education from the University of Alabama, a master's degree in education from the University of North Alabama and a master's degree in business administration from Mississippi State University. She told me she is a Certified Public Accountant, currently employed in the field.

I first contacted Haley via email in June of 2009 due to my interest in her reported experiences which involved apparent military personnel. Our interactions led to me interviewing her over the course of a couple days in March, 2011.

As much an artist as she is a business administrator or anything else, Haley loves to write. She enjoys many forms of art and particularly appreciates theater. While the name Leah Ann Haley will be forever joined with the UFO phenomenon, the woman came to prioritize a healthy social life and enjoying herself, as was indicated by the presence in her den of gifts from her birthday celebration. “If I put the gifts away, I'll forget to send thank you notes,” she explained with a laugh.

During a drive through downtown Pensacola, she fondly pointed out locations where bands regularly perform. She enjoys concerts, and told me about attending a Lynyrd Skynyrd gig, remarking that she of course likes the band's music due to her roots in (Sweet Home) Alabama.

Haley developed a strong faith which she attributes in part to her traumatic experiences and the stress of going public with her story. She enjoys attending casual worship services held Sunday mornings at picnic tables on Pensacola Beach. “I think that's so cool,” she said while describing the services.

Her first marriage ended as she became increasingly committed to investigating her experiences and publicly sharing her findings. Was her involvement in ufology responsible for her failed marriage? “Oh, yeah,” she responded decisively, “absolutely.” Her status as a relatively high profile, controversial figure severely strained family relations, but Haley feels she picked up the pieces as well as could be expected.

Take her or leave her, Leah Haley is willing to be scrutinized. Other high profile members of the UFO community often hide from objective evaluation, reciting their largely unchallenged rhetoric with relentless and annoying persistence. Contrastingly, Haley at least seemingly provides us with a refreshingly transparent view of the path of an experiencer of high strangeness who embarked upon a sincere journey of investigation and self-discovery. It is only natural that such a journey included evolving perspectives, changing over time, and it appears Haley happens to be secure enough to tell us when she changes her mind.

“The most important thing about my case,” she said, “is that my memories were of alien abductions, and that after spending thousands and thousands and thousands of dollars and years and years and years of research trying to find evidence that alien abductions occurred, the only evidence I found is of human-instigated mind control.”

Circumstantial Evidence

The UFO House of Pensacola Beach serves as an eerie reminder
of the Gulf Breeze UFO craze that snowballed into a frenzy.

Haley cited circumstances such as confirmed mind control operations and Freedom of Information Act documents, substantiating details of such black budget operations, as supporting evidence for her perspectives. Suggesting the general population lacks adequate understandings of relevant issues, such as conditioned behavior and subliminal programming, Haley stated, “Doing my lectures and radio shows I met people all over the country, and most of the alien abductees just accept what's happened at face value. What they remember - to them - is what happened. Very few of us have ever questioned it to the extent that you and I obviously have.”

Haley cited U.S. Patent Office documents, demonstrating evolution of electronic technology and non-lethal weapons that correlates with the time line of reports of alien abduction. Advances in technology during the 20th century included using electromagnetic frequencies (EMFs) to remotely entrain brain waves, induce altered states of consciousness and transfer an otherwise inaudible voice directly into the brain. Overexposure to EMFs was documented to cause hallucinations, nausea, short term amnesia (missing time) and reddened skin, circumstances which became staples of abductee testimonies.

Haley has claimed to have been interrogated and tortured by military personnel, but do not expect her to name alleged perpetrators. Though much speculation has circulated about Haley's alleged abusers, she is well aware she cannot prove accusations and therefore chooses to withhold public comment on identities.

She also claimed to have been approached repeatedly by mysterious people interested in her experiences, and on at least one occasion such a person apparently claimed to be acting on behalf of intelligence officials. Haley believed she confirmed the claim to a reasonable extent.

Marc Davenport

Haley met Marc Davenport at the 1993 Ozark UFO Conference. He attended her lecture and approached her afterword, finding her presentation of interest. Like Haley, Davenport was a researcher, author and speaker.

The two discovered many mutual interests. They eventually married and plunged ever deeper into the world of ufology. The duo spent extended periods of time conducting research and presenting their work through Greenleaf Publications, a corporation founded by Haley in 1992 and subsequently jointly operated by the couple. It was with Davenport's help as a researcher and support as a friend that Haley dissected the world of military intelligence and black budget research projects.

She explained, “It was like a progression with me until I finally came to the conclusion that everything with me was human-instigated. That's where the evidence pointed. I didn't find any concrete evidence - no absolute concrete evidence - of aliens, but plenty of evidence of human intervention.”

Such evidence included two events reportedly occurring the morning of June 16, 2000. Haley experienced abduction-like visions, non-ordinary states of consciousness and the sensation of hearing voices in her head. Haley was home alone during the second episode, which also included paralysis. Davenport returned unexpectedly, observing a helicopter hovering within 100 feet of their house. The helicopter soon departed, leaving Davenport to find Haley ill and disoriented inside the home.

It was therefore not only Davenport's help as a colleague, but also his experience as a direct witness, that assisted Haley in re-evaluating her experiences. Davenport continued to report on mind control and non-lethal weapons.

In 2005 Davenport was diagnosed with what Haley called an unusual form of cancer. He lost his life to what proved to be the painful and disabling illness.

Does Haley think Davenport's cancer was intentionally induced? “I will go to my grave believing so,” she said.

Carpenter Affair

Haley's experiences included missing time, disturbing body markings and a retrieved possible implant, in addition to interactions with mysterious strangers and military personnel. Her search for answers included regressive hypnosis sessions conducted by John Carpenter, a mental health counselor who served as the MUFON director of abduction research during the early 1990's. For what is in all likelihood a variety of reasons, Haley's mental imagery during the sessions included implications of aliens and emotional trauma.

Carpenter conducted some 14 regressive hypnosis sessions with Haley, encouraging her to accept alien abduction, before selling her case file. In what became known as the Carpenter Affair, Carpenter betrayed 140 clients and alleged alien abductees when he accepted $14,000 for their case files. The purchaser was Robert Bigelow, whose activities and associates never stray far from controversy. Non-lethal weapons expert and consultant to the CIA, Colonel John B. Alexander, was termed a science advisor to Bigelow at the time.

When asked how she now feels about Carpenter, Haley took a long breath and exhaled deliberately. She replied that she thinks Carpenter was “manipulated” into his actions, but that does not mean she completely absolves him of all responsibility.

Haley explained it was very distressing when the names of Carpenter's clients were briefly posted on the Internet. Literally over night, anonymity was lost, family members were outed and similar such situations befell those who sought support and were assured confidentiality by Carpenter and MUFON. Haley remains uncertain exactly who was responsible for originally posting the client names on the Internet.

Haley said most of the 140 probably never knew Carpenter sold their files to Bigelow. About a dozen of them were aware of it and convinced Haley “to join them in the lawsuit that turned out to go nowhere,” she explained with frustration.

Would she rather not discuss the Carpenter Affair? “I don't mind talking about it,” she said. “It's just that the statute of limitations expired.”

“We had a clear cut case,” she continued. “The first attorneys said, 'There are no doubts.'”

Haley explained the attorneys initially met with the plaintiffs, assuring them testimony and evidence, which they had, was all they needed. However, the first group of attorneys later turned over the case to a second group, and lines of communication declined to a non-functional mess. Haley felt certain the lawsuit fell through the cracks “because of threats.”

In a bit softer and more despondent voice, Haley concluded, “There's not anything that can be done about it. That whole group just got away with it.”

Matters of Compassion and Responsibility

The sun sets on the waterfront in downtown Pensacola
where crowds of eager skywatchers once gathered regularly.

Haley long since stopped fearing public criticism. Such criticism is inevitable when revising opinions destined to be as unpopular as in the case of suggesting there are no aliens in alien abduction. Rather than buckle to peer pressure, Haley appeared willing to draw on her experience as a relatively public figure - and her resulting thick skin - to set examples of honesty and realism by publicly acknowledging perspectives are simply bound to change as more information becomes available.

Haley considered sharing her story to be matters of compassion and responsibility. “It disturbs me greatly that there are people who are still being victimized by that system,” she commented.

Perhaps it is ultimately Haley's ability to successfully navigate the no-nonsense world of accounting that enabled her to painstakingly re-evaluate everything she thought she knew about alien abduction and her experiences. Maybe it was a genuine desire to seek truth. I really cannot say for sure, but Haley's message is certainly clear enough: A check and balance of facts versus belief systems reveals alien abduction dogma does not properly add up, particularly in her specific case.

Haley said she periodically distanced herself from ufology and her past but kept getting “drawn back in.” She explained she was most recently drawn back in by me and what she found to be my interest in black budget operations and her case. I thanked her for her willingness to interact with me, then asked what was most important to her to ultimately accomplish.

Without hesitation, Leah Haley leaned back in her chair, looked skyward and replied with animated emphasis, "I want mind control and other invasive experiments on unwitting U.S. citizens to be stopped. And I want the mind control perpetrators brought to justice!"

Did Anyone Notice When 1984 Arrived?

2011-09-15T17:31:00.008-04:00

In 1948 George Orwell wrote the novel, 1984, now considered a classic work. Orwell offered readers a concerning description of an oppressive futuristic society existing in the year 1984 and in which personal autonomy was all but outlawed and privacy was nonexistent. Orwell's governing body was referred to as Big Brother, a term that eventually became the subject of many metaphors and coined phrases. Big Brother expertly and relentlessly utilized combinations of technology, propaganda, emotional responses to terms such as, well, Big Brother, and even human nature itself to effectively monitor, manipulate and control the population.

Orwell's readers and the general population were concerned about the possibility that supposedly democratic nations could become unreasonably oppressive while denying any such thing had come to pass. The general and apparent consensus, despite Orwell's warnings, seemed to be that everyone would notice if such a thing took place and human rights were being grossly violated. A reasonable argument could be made that, one degree at a time, the lobster has now come to a boil.

Circumstances of Potential Interest

A UFO community gathers at symposiums unforgivably claiming to present results of scientific investigations, yet the hosts continue to largely serve up speakers asserting a variety of absurdities. A number of concerning circumstances largely go unnoticed amidst the smoke and mirrors. While alleged aliens and potentially interesting things in the sky take center stage, a variety of relevant situations fly under the radar of all but a small minority of individuals.

Such situations include, but are by no means limited to:

John Glenn became extremely concerned about the abuse of human research subjects, culminating in his proposed Human Research Subject Protection Act of 1997. The bill was not passed.

Former Missouri Representative Jim Guest became an activist for people suffering from electronic weapons torture and testing. He also spoke out against the testing and use of radio frequency identification, or RFID, chips, due to the related health issues and privacy violations.

Presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich attempted to pull in the reigns on space based and aeronautical weapons, including items specifically named as mind control weapons, in his proposed 2001 bill. Kucinich's efforts were met with the same results as experienced by John Glenn, as the bill was not passed.

Additional situations of potential interest to the UFO community include the long time use and testing of quite terrestrial implants, the fascinating saga of the Gulf Breeze Six and the Central Intelligence Agency's decades-long interest in mind control techniques. Such techniques included hypnosis, among many other abusive and invasive procedures. Readers might find considerations of hypnosis and its relativity to the Emma Woods case to be of interest. Also see MKULTRA, BLUEBIRD, ARTICHOKE, or any number of such project titles. Interested parties might additionally choose to read about Vietnam Veterans of America versus CIA, and research conducted by Project Censored.

Reasonable Questions

I do not claim to conclusively know if any reports of alien abduction are the results of covert research projects. When we consider a list of possible explanations, it is only thorough and competent to include items ranging from emotional trauma to physiological circumstances that result in incorrect perceptions of interactions with non-human beings. Such explanations certainly account for some reports.

But are any reports the results of something else – something taking place in an objective reality, independent of the witness? If so, and a reasonable argument can be made to that effect, covert research projects, in essence, military abductees, deserve reasonable consideration.

Nick Redfern recently posted an article about Alison, a woman who once thought she was an alien abductee, but came to believe she was a victim of covert research. It is reasonable to ask ourselves how much the UFO community may have been duped into such premature and extreme assumptions as held in the abduction lore and as may have been propagated through the ongoing construction of a myth that serves as a cover story.

In 2009 I first contacted Leah Haley, a woman who came to be known as an alien abductee. I was very curious about a number of circumstances surrounding Leah's experiences.

I will soon be posting a summary of what I learned about Leah Haley and what she thinks about the alien abduction phenomenon, including her own case. I sincerely would appreciate readers following along and forwarding Leah's story, as I know it is important to her to have her revised thoughts and feelings known. Suffice it to say this post and Redfern's article about Alison are in context.

I envision continuing to explore the Haley case, Woods case and related issues on UFOmania, a discussion forum. Participation and constructive input is highly encouraged. Readers might also enjoy browsing information contained in various sections about abductology. I hope many of you will follow the stories and participate in discussions.

Is Big Brother responsible for what became known as alien abduction? I do not know. I cannot say for sure. Perhaps an equally relevant issue, though, is why so few people talk about the possibility.

They read all about aliens... and supposed space ships... and even discuss alien mind control, as if it is common knowledge, no less. But they do not study MKULTRA or non-lethal weapons. Neither do they typically study subliminal programming, the effects of emotional trauma or dynamics of conditioned behavior, relevant as they are to ufology.

Are any reported alien abductions due to Big Brother? That seems like a reasonable question. And why aren't we researching the possibilities in responsible manners and on a larger scale than is currently the case? Maybe that is the current question.

Sample of Kimbler's Roswell Debris Disappears En Route to ASU

2011-09-03T10:59:00.007-04:00

A metal fragment taken from the Roswell debris discovered by Frank Kimbler was lost without explanation. Kimbler shipped the fragment via Fedex for further testing at Arizona State University's School of Earth and Space Exploration in Tempe. The package arrived, but Lynda Williams, Ph.D., a research professor, emailed Kimbler that the fragment was not in the package.

“I just found your Fedex in our main office, opened it on the lab bench and found nothing in the plastic holder. Did you forget to put it in?” Dr. Williams wrote.

“I'm sorry, but it's just not there!”

Kimbler replied to Dr. Williams the sample of metal was well packaged and he was certain he did not forget to include it in the shipment. “I can assure you it was in the small round box, directly on the top in plain sight in the box,” he wrote.

“This UFO evidence stuff is an interesting game to play. Seems to be a great deal like cat and mouse, cloak and dagger and chess all wrapped in one,” Kimbler added, stating that he will not ship any other samples to anyone. He further stated he or trusted colleagues will personally supervise every step of debris analysis from here forward.

Kimbler has previous dealings with Hal Puthoff of Earth Tech and Robert Bigelow's BAASS while attempting to obtain quality analysis of the material he located. Many suspect the debris may be linked to the now famous Roswell crash. Kimbler indicated the analysis has been slow and tedious, and his dealing with both Earth Tech and BAASS raised concerns.

Lines of communication opened between Frank Kimbler, Frank Purcell and various interested parties following the publication of the related Open Minds article and my posting Purcell's subsequent analysis. I happen to exchange emails with this group of interested parties, resulting in my notification of the lost metal fragment and the information contained in this post.

Kimbler wrote to me on September 3:

"The debunkers will say I never placed it in the box, the conspiracy folks will say the government got it.

Here is what I would like to see happen. CNN or some other big news agency to follow this analysis. Full public disclosure of the process, good science. It makes no difference to me if the material is a beer can fragment or ET metal, it's all part of the story... to get an answer."

I'm pulling for ya, Frank.

Central Issues of the Emma Woods Case

2011-08-19T12:08:00.002-04:00

Many within ufology have become acquainted with the Emma Woods case. If you are not among those familiar with it, here is a crash course:

A woman residing in the Pacific region and now calling herself Emma Woods had some very interesting experiences that some would interpret as related to alleged alien abduction. She eventually came in the acquaintance of self-described researcher David Jacobs, who proceeded to go down the regressive hypnosis path. Things got more and more odd between Woods and Jacobs, culminating in numerous e-hypnosis sessions, Jacobs' claims that alien hybrids were on the verge of throttling him (I hate it when that happens), and a host of additional questionable circumstances increasing in absurdity. For details, see Woods' website, which consists of excellent documentation and verification of the chain of events.

As the reader is surmising, the lure of being an interplanetary liaison involved in alien hybrid death stakes and high cosmic intrigue did not prove enough to keep Woods from thinking critically. Woods eventually called game over, told us all what had been going on – along with presenting thorough verification - and has been getting battered by the True Believers (and those who have interests in keeping the True Believers well stocked in foolishness) ever since.

Fast forward to the present. The latest (and chronic) attack on Woods comes from personnel of Paracast forum. Woods recently made a typically well researched and comprehensive post, documenting relevant circumstances on the matter and responding to the latest series of accusations leveled against her. The accusations include what have become the now usual assortment of allegations of mental disorders and supposed resulting behavior, as well as both suggestions and demands that Woods cease expressing herself.

I should first remind those who wish to censor Woods that we are dealing with a demographic that Jacobs and others are encouraging to talk about everything from underground alien bases to aliens who rape and pillage. If you want to make a case for some woman being too weird, obsessive or most anything else, for that matter, to allow her to participate on a UFO forum, you better come loaded for bear.

As if Woods' thorough documentation of facts and the predominantly tolerant and open-minded nature of the UFO community are not reasons enough to allow Woods to speak her peace, there are three primary points I find wrong with the statements of those seeking to silence Woods:

1) None of those who try to saddle Woods with psychiatric disorders are actually qualified to diagnose or identify such conditions.

2) None of those who accuse Woods of unacceptable behavior provide documentation of specific circumstances.

3) My personal experience interacting with Woods gives me no reason whatsoever to suspect her to be anything other than reasonable.

None of us are above an occasional errant remark that would have been better off not being made, particularly in the often passionate and heated world of ufology. Let's just say there aren't many angels treading around these parts where the rest of us rushed in.

I do not wish to be in anybody's camp. I am not interested in taking sides in any forum wars. I could point out some good points and some not so good points expressed by most all of us, and I am not looking to crucify anyone.

That stated, I want to strongly encourage the UFO community to take a closer look at the real issues in the Woods case. I could list a lot of things the issues are not (that keep getting discussed), but it is more productive to remind you what they are. The central issues of the Woods case are largely being lost in the crossfire, and some of the key points are:

- A real hard look needs to be taken at the protection of human research subjects who work with self-described ufologists, especially as it relates to supposed investigative techniques that throw critical thinking under the bus and ignore American Medical Association policy.

- Outright lies have been told and promoted about Woods' actions and circumstances, tactics comparable to defense attorneys attempting to defame the victim to deflect attention from what their client, the criminal, actually did.

- Woods consistently communicates clearly, expressing herself well and providing specific documentation of her points, while her detractors level unspecific accusations lacking verification and substance.

- Jacobs clearly tries to lead his research subjects to predetermined points. The well is so tainted it should be capped.

- Jacobs, at best, made some extremely poor errors in judgment while interacting with Woods.

- If Jacobs or any of the rest of the witch hunt gang would ever present any actual evidence, as defined by the professional research community, of alien abduction and of which they chronically and falsely claim to possess, they would have no need to conduct such public relations campaigns as have become the norm.

- Woods had some interesting experiences. Anybody remember those: interesting experiences?

- Woods has every right to discuss her case and the related abuse as long as she so chooses.

- By any definitions, it is irrational and unreasonable for others to suggest Woods should silence herself and cease discussing her own case and related abuse while they, no less, continue discussing both her and her case. To suggest such is simply unreasonable.

Suspending Judgment or Knowing: Mind Control and Alien Abduction

2011-08-04T19:41:00.003-04:00

One is required to suspend judgment on conclusions in order to consider the feasibility of alleged alien abduction. No conclusive evidence exists that non-human beings, much less inter-planetary visitors, are conducting experiments against the will of their human research subjects. No suspension of judgment is required, however, in accepting the existence of state-sponsored mind control victims.

If a person walks up to you at a meeting for discussion of paranormal subject matter and tells you they are a mind control victim, of course you should be skeptical - as you should if they tell you they have been on an alien's examination table. A difference in the two is that mind control victims conclusively exist, so it is simply a question of whether or not you happen to be actually talking to one at that particular point in time.

The general mind control hypothesis as an explanation for reported alien abduction – the simple version - goes something like this: It is a well documented fact that substantial resources were invested in mind control. Some of the victims may have either been intentionally led to believe they were alien abductees or inadvertently drew such incorrect conclusions about their ordeals.

A brief sample of supporting evidence includes intelligence projects such as MKULTRA. See, for instance, Vietnam Veterans of America versus Central Intelligence Agency, a case currently pending in California Federal court.

Further study might include the experiments conducted at Alan Memorial Institute in Montreal, in which the U.S. Department of Defense paid damages to unknowing victims who sought psychiatric care. Incidentally, Martti Koski, one of the victims, claimed his abusers told him they were from another planet.

There is much, much more, but you get the idea. Mind control experiments indeed happened.

The mind control hypothesis for alien abduction brings out the worst in both the True Believers and the Stubborn Skeptics, for whatever reasons. It is not hard to understand why the Believers take exception, as they do with any and every hypothesis that dares suggest witness testimony and hypothetical lines of reasoning should only be accepted with suspensions of judgment.

The Skeptics are subject to getting bent out of shape for any number of reasons, all of which, as in the case of their starry eyed counterparts, hamper the sincere pursuit of truth. There should be no problem with the open and rational discussion of any hypothesis if certain protocol is respected and followed, such as accurately identifying differences between terms like 'facts' and 'opinions', and 'objective conclusions' and 'subjective beliefs.'

The Stubborn Skeptics would have you believe, for example, that the U.S. state-sponsored mind control movement stopped in the 1970's. Even if that were conclusively the case, which it is not, it by no means gives us rational reason to completely discount the consideration that some reports of alien abduction may be attributable to trauma sustained during such experiments. Furthermore, such human rights violations remain an issue and the development of related technologies were not ceased, as demonstrated by Project Censored of Senoma State University.

Are mind control experiments and related human rights violations responsible for any reports of alien abduction? I do not know.

I do not know if any alien abductions ever happened. I know mind control experiments happened. That is not a statement based on subjective belief or emotional preference. It is, indeed, a fact. The subsequent relevant questions and their implications to the abduction phenomenon deserve reasonable consideration.

Roswell Debris

2011-07-27T18:52:00.006-04:00

During the past couple years I have corresponded with Frank Purcell, a retired Chemical Engineer. Frank has written that he holds a Masters of Science in Chemical Engineering, a Masters in Control Systems Engineering and a Bachelors in Computer Science.

In a recent email he offered comment about an article, Test confirms Roswell debris is not from Earth, published by Open Minds (not to be confused with Open Minds Forum):

http://www.openminds.tv/test-confirms-roswell-debris-733/

The article was written by Alejandro Rojas and explored the work of Frank Kimbler, a teacher in Roswell. It seems Kimbler found some debris, suspected it may be from the famous crash, and subsequently had the debris analyzed.

As can be gathered from the title of the article, Rojas suggested no further analysis is necessary and that the debris is certainly “not from Earth.” Frank Purcell offered some contradicting peer review, the gist of which is that Rojas' claims are premature. With Frank's permission, I post his comments:

The chart below, taken from the article, plots the ratio of isotopes Mg26/Mg24 vertically against the ratio of isotopes Mg25/Mg24 on the horizontal axis. The sample of metal analyzed from Roswell is shown by AH-1 that is clearly not on the line of the other samples. The line represents the spread of Mg26 relative to Mg25, the two minor isotopes, each nominally 10% compared to the more abundant isotope MG24 that is roughly 80% of earthly magnesium.

Presenting the data in this manner without error bars is deceptive because it suggests the AH-1 sample has non-earthly isotope ratios - the conclusion intended by the thrust of the article.

The data points on the line are presumably from many analyses of many samples by many different laboratories. Properly, error bars, typically of 1 standard deviation, should be shown and would be if this were an article in a scientific journal. Even though we don't have that information, we do have an error analyses for the AH-1 sample, as follows:

Isotope       Abundance - observed    Abundance - natural
MG24         79.1 +/- 0.5                  78.6
MG25         10.1 +/- 0.5                  10.1
Mg26         10.5 +/- 0.5                  11.3

I assume the error estimate of +/- 0.5 represents 1 standard deviation for each analyses. Note that MG24 analyses falls within expectations for natural abundance, i.e., 78.6 to 79.6 where the expected mean is 78.6 . Similarly, Mg25 is at the expected level. MG26, within 1 standard deviation, however, is not at the expected 11.3%, but is estimated to be in a range between 10.0 and 11.0 . Is this significant? We can't say for sure. We can statistically argue that the measured 10.5 +/- 0.5 really has a mean of 11.3 with a probability of 11% using the normal distribution table. But that 11% probability, although small, assumes perfect knowledge that the true mean is 11.3, and this we don't know because no error estimate is given for the accepted value.

The data is presented and plotted as isotopic ratios. Although AH-1 is shown as a point, it is really an area on the chart extending from 0.120 to 0.135 on the horizontal axis and from 0.125 to 0.140 on the vertical axis. (These ranges are calculated from the observed data.) It is clear that this range does in fact intersect the line and is suggestive that the AH-1 sample is not extraterrestrial.

Sure, additional measurements would be helpful to discern if the metal is terrestrial, or not. Hopefully, Open Minds will publish additional results when they are available.

I would also like to see Open Minds or others follow up on the Kimbler debris, eventually giving us the rest of the story. One way or the other, I appreciate Frank offering qualified peer review. Ufology could use more of this kind of analysis of such circumstances and those who report them.

Internet Personalities and Their Accomplishments

2011-07-19T18:35:00.004-04:00

Ever skeptical Lance Moody seems to have hit one over the proverbial fence with his recent investigation of ufologist Philip Imbrogno. Well, that might now be former ufologist Imbrogno, thanks to some clever and good work by Moody.

In his blog What the Hell Was That?, Moody explained how he discovered Imbrogno's alleged credentials could not be verified. Neither could Imbrogno's alleged Special Forces duty.

Enter Decker, of Paracast forum, and the jig was up. Imbrogno now has a whole lot of explaining to do. Very nice work, guys.

In light of Moody's recent accomplishment, I present the following Internetters and their remarkable work. In no particular order, along with apologies in advance for forgetting some people and undoubtedly omitting honorable mentions, some interesting 'net circumstances include:

Source Zzzzz

Source A was an anonymous alleged insider presented and assessed authentic by certain moderators at Open Minds Forum. Murnut, Zep Tepi (of Reality Uncovered forum) and a few select others were not as willing as many to blindly jump on the bandwagon. Imagine that.

An investigative team assembled, and Source A was ultimately irrefutably demonstrated to be a fraudulent hoaxer. Excellent work, team murnut.

Some Source A loyalists refused to revise their supportive opinions, in spite of all factual evidence presented to the contrary. Certain members and personnel of Open Minds continue to remain close minded to the facts. Oh, the irony.

Advanced Droning

DrDil of UFO Casebook forum is a virtual PhD on the drones fiasco, a series of alleged sightings with more contradictions and loose ends than the Casey Anthony trial. DrDil contributes to related discussion threads, set up a website exclusively devoted to his drone research, maintains a blog, and covers aspects of the case ranging from photo discrepancies to the questionable inconsistencies in the reporting done by Linda Moulton Howe.

Is Lying a Symptom?

Stiver of UFOmania forum once took an interest in the Chris Bledsoe, Sr. case of alleged alien abduction. Among other curiosities, Stiver noticed Bledsoe's artistic abilities took an inexplicably abrupt and intermittent spike for the better.

Stiver was reviewing Bledsoe's narration and accompanying sketches of his reported abduction. While doing so, she noticed Bledsoe's drawings were very poor quality, a point that would have been completely inconsequential had it not been for one single and excellent sketch. The sketch was a being allegedly encountered by Bledsoe during his abduction, and reportedly drawn by Bledsoe during the same general time frame in which he created the other very low quality sketches. But it gets even better, or worse, depending on how ya look at it...

Stiver conducted a little detective work and determined the alleged Bledsoe sketch – the high quality drawing of an alien – was in actuality an enhanced reproduction (traced, basically) from a famous image of a crop circle. To add insult to injury, there was talk that Bledsoe's profoundly increased ability to draw could be attributed to his encounter with aliens. I don't know about artistic ability, but these alien encounters don't seem to do much to help people tell the truth.

Fallow the Magic Thread

Enigmatic James Carrion ranges from disappointingly silent to very refreshingly outspoken. The former MUFON International Director's areas of interest and topics of discussion have included, among many, the likelihood the Cold War gave birth to the modern UFO myth, the CIA manipulation of MUFON, and the inconsistencies in the accounts of self-described extraterrestrial contactee Stan Romanek. Among other Romanek inconsistencies, Carrion wrote about multiple reports filed in connection to the Romanek case, allegedly filed by different witnesses, yet many of which contained the same misspelling of the word 'follow,' incorrectly spelled 'fallow.' Curious indeed.

Carrion's interesting blog, Follow the Magic Thread, additionally includes descriptions of how he came to develop realizations of the ineffectiveness of MUFON investigators, suggesting they do not ask the right questions. Carrion further suggested his MUFON stint led him to realize there is an overwhelming lack of evidence of an ET presence, considering that of the thousands of cases logged in the MUFON system, absolutely none provide a smoking gun. Carrion implied if an individual or organization investigated mountains of cases and none of them provided direct evidence of aliens, then the popular explanation should not be the ETH. Imagine such a thing.

Carrion's wild west style of shooting from the hip has been appreciated in the past and, as Stiver recently commented, would be greatly appreciated at least once more – about the Ambient Monitoring Project. If there is anyone the UFO community might ever be able to count on for an honest and accurate description of what took place during the AMP, helping us curb the intelligence-insulting excuses and evasion of the real issues, it would be Carrion. If there is anyone equipped with both the first hand knowledge of the situation and the guts to lead the hunting party, it would be Carrion. Anyone up for a hunting trip?

Don't Forget Mori... Or Elevenaugust

Kentaro Mori operates a site, forgetomori.com, that states, “Extraordinary claims. Ordinary investigations,” and indeed delivers practical, quality material on many aspects of the strange. From alleged stick figure aliens to supposed time travelers, Mori provides objective evaluation and cites sources. Imagine that. Some of Mori's best work was on the UFO videos out of Turkey, which brings us to elevenaugust, who does some great film analysis, among other things.

Elevenaugust can be found on the usual UFO forum haunts, contributing quality posts about topics such as the Turkish videos. He also kept us updated on the alleged zombie photographed crawling around the woods in Louisiana. I can't write that with a straight face, but 11a's posts were truly interesting reads on the matter.

Could You Swab That Deck for DNA While You're Stacking It?

Last but most certainly not least are the women who confirmed that abductology leaves a great deal to be desired in the way of honesty and objectivity. Thank you, Emma Woods and Carol Rainey, for your informative and important work. Woods and Rainey courageously published their accounts of David Jacobs' and Budd Hopkins' biased distortions of truth and lack of professionalism, including a Rainey film in which Hopkins blatantly stated he is attempting to stack the deck.

Many of us long suspected such dishonesty and subjective reporting to be the case, and Dr. Tyler Kokjohn put a professionally qualified voice to our concerns when he began to write about the manner in which such 'researchers' were consistently missing valuable opportunities to collect samples of alien DNA. That was the case, anyway, if we were to believe virtually anything they told us was true. We are not only still waiting for the DNA evidence, but we also continue to await explanations as to why such evidence has not been presented.

Woods and Rainey continue to speak out on the issues in spite of being repeatedly mistreated in many social situations, including experiencing direct negative consequences in certain circles and being censored and banned on select websites. I appreciate Woods' and Rainey's work. Additional thanks to the Paratopia team, Gary Haden, Doug Mesner and all the rest of the 'netters who support efforts of people such as Woods and Rainey to set the records straight.

Miami Orbs and MUFON Games

2011-07-01T12:19:00.002-04:00

There are at least two ways to address the case of Miami orbs and MUFON games. One perspective is the reasonably interesting reported events experienced by the apparent witnesses, and a second is a chain of events that occurred during the investigation and involved UFOmania forum, at least to some extent and as described by then-MUFON personnel Larry Gessner and Morgan Beall. As I explain, it will become apparent why I, a UFOmania forum moderator, and stiver/Iza, the UFOmania forum administrator, were left shaking our heads about the chain of events.

The Sightings

At a MUFON meeting conducted in St. Petersburg, Florida, on Saturday, February 26, 2011, Morgan Beall reported a man and his wife witnessed a sphere-like object at their home in Homestead, Florida (Miami-Dade). This particular sighting reportedly occurred around the turn of the year, but the couple and at least one other family member allegedly had somewhat of a history of sightings in addition to the latest event.

One such sighting was a recent event in which a football shaped and sized object, pulsing red, was apparently observed and photographed. According to Beall, the object was described as hovering about three feet off the ground in the front yard of the couple's home before flying away. Beall shared related photos and their analysis.

The case included military or intelligence implications, as Beall reported the family had ties to law enforcement and military service. Actually, to an extent that Beall stated were quite significant. Additionally, their residence was near a major military facility.

The Investigation

On February 12, Beall made a post on the UFOmania forum in which he requested information about the Miami-Dade sighting. Shortly thereafter, on February 14, Larry Gessner contacted Iza and directly stated the UFOmania forum was involved in a MUFON investigation. Gessner requested Iza's help with said investigation.

Gessner informed Iza two unknown individuals had somehow gained what he termed restricted information about a case. Gessner further stated the two individuals claimed to be conducting an investigation on behalf of UFOmania, which Iza informed Gessner was a fraudulent claim. Gessner stressed the need for secrecy about the matter, for whatever reasons, and apparently highly prioritized finding out who the individuals were so it could be determined how they gained access to the restricted information.

Iza requested to be put in contact with the lead investigator of the case if she was to try to be of assistance. Gessner complied, and the lead investigator was Beall. The case turned out to be the Miami-Dade sphere sighting.

During the previously referenced February 26 MUFON meeting, Beall proceeded to publicly discuss everything and much more that Gessner had emphasized was so secret and should be held in such confidentiality. As Iza had learned by this point in time through her correspondence with Beall, two individuals claiming to represent UFOmania had visited the home of the couple. The two were denied access to viewing the area in which a sighting occurred, yet returned later and entered the property without permission. The homeowner was seemingly very angry about the trespassing and apparent security breech that appeared to be the responsibility of MUFON's lack of ability to keep personal information confidential.

According to Beall, the couple apparently had other uninvited visitors as well. It has been speculated by MUFON personnel that these visiting parties may have been from a government agency or may somehow have been related to ufology entrepreneur Robert Bigelow. Current and former MUFON personnel have now made public statements in which they proclaim direct government interference in the investigation.

It is noteworthy this was a STAR investigation, at least on behalf of MUFON, and security issues are by no means new to the division. Such information leaks have occurred before.

I do not know how the deceptive visitors in question initially got the personal information of the couple/witnesses, enabling them to locate their home. Neither do I know why Gessner and Beall had such conflicting stances on secrecy and how to conduct their affairs. Lastly, I do not know exactly why the alleged visitors would choose to claim they are representing UFOmania forum when Iza and I have no knowledge whatsoever of them or their activities.

Seeking Former Ambient Monitoring Project Volunteers

2011-05-15T17:44:00.000-04:00

The Ambient Monitoring Project, or AMP, was a research project designed to monitor the ambient environment of possible alien abductees during their reported abductions. Disappointingly, the project results were never released and the data has never been made available for public review. A description of the project, its equipment and methodology was written by project director Tom Deuley and published in the July, 2008, MUFON Journal.

I have located one of the AMP volunteers, and they would very much like to interact with other volunteers. The individual would like to discuss their experiences, thoughts and feelings about participating in the project.

If you were an AMP volunteer, please contact me. I will then gladly exchange my contact information with you, as well as coordinate the exchange of contact information among the AMP volunteers, so that the situation may be discussed to whatever extent participants are comfortable.

Thank you.

Crop Circles: Considering Possibilities

2011-05-05T09:38:00.000-04:00

Let us begin our current considerations by reviewing some of the key information presented thus far:

Authentic crop circles, as compared to hoaxes, are defined as geometric formations of downed plants that consist of artifacts and evidence of unusual energy, such as microwave, to an extent that alters plants at a cellular level. Sometimes, however, downed plants contain such evidence yet appear to be randomly downed, or arranged in non-geometric formations.

Primary methods of determining if a formation is authentic should include identifying evidence of unusual energy because hoaxers and artists can be very competent, creating elaborate formations within a single night. Factors such as appearance and size, no matter how initially intriguing, should be considered relatively insignificant as compared to identifying artifacts and evidence of unusual energy.

Biophysicist William Levengood informed us that the energy waves may in and of themselves down the plants by bending the nodes. The expulsion cavities and cellular alterations, in addition to serving as evidence of authentic crop formations, may be showing us the very means by which the plants were downed.

Crop circles began being reported in the U.S. during the 1940's. Reported crop circles hit an all time high in the U.S. in 1990 and continued to increase over the next two decades. Reports on each side of the Atlantic evolved to include unidentified aerial phenomena in the vicinity of select formations. Investigators grew to resent global governments, becoming convinced evidence was being withheld and independent researchers were being manipulated by the powers that be.

Interesting anomalies are periodically identified that at least seem to over-arch with reports of other strange phenomena, such as the circumstances of glassy particles found within certain crop formations as well as found inside homes of select alleged alien abductees. One such Michigan abductee was involved in the 'hair curler' incident and was all but confirmed to have been in the path of very unusual energy during a reported experience of high strangeness, resulting in Levengood determining that some plant seeds along for the ride grew with “increased vigor.” Levengood stated the most unusual formation he ever saw was located in Kansas and crops within the effected area had an increased growth rate. Plants with substantially increased growth rates have also been reported in additional apparent UFO-related circumstances, such as the 75-pound cabbage produced from the garden of Lindy Tucker which was in the vicinity of downed crops and unidentified aerial phenomena. Also, the Travis Walton case includes trees located within the “ring of influence” at the site of the reported abduction growing at a reportedly “astounding” rate. [1]

Weapons Precedence, Vertical Mirrors and Truth-Distortion Camouflage

Long time investigator/author Dr. Jacques Vallee wrote about crop circles and their implications on his Boing Boing blog. [2] Vallee acknowledged that all camps agree the vast majority of formations are the work of hoaxers and artists, but additionally presented for consideration that authentic crop circles may be the work of the military intelligence community, using a beam weapon.

Vallee addressed issues such as the feasibility of such a weapon, citing that disclosures about beam weapons have already taken place. [3] Such devices can be airborne, capable of harming humans and can stop car engines.

Phillips Laboratory, an advanced weapons research facility located at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico, has long acknowledged such beams and capabilities. [4] A 1993 press release stated the use and direction of “high-power microwaves, high-energy advanced pulsed power and very-high-energy plasmas” had been achieved.

Researcher David Perkins further informed us that such weaponry first began being developed by the American military during World War II. Curiously, this is right about the time crop circles began being reported in the States. In his 1998 article High Heat, Perkins went on to explain how the projection of intense lasers had received military attention during the Star Wars era, including the development of numerous high-power microwave devices. Coincidentally or not, the years following these achievements included record numbers of U.S. crop circle reports.

On his blog, Vallee noted his interview with what he described as a reliable witness who observed a very curious object hovering in the sky above an area known for crop circles. The man was a professor of physics and a hang glider pilot. Vallee reported that, while doing some flying, the professor observed “something like a perfect mirror hanging vertically in mid-air.” Circling the object to determine its shape, the man decided it was cylindrical and covered with a perfectly reflective surface.

Addressing why the military would be interested in possibly using such weapons to, of all things, create crop circles, Vallee called upon his experience as a computer scientist to warn us of the potential advantages, dangerous as they may be, of effectively manipulating information and public opinion. Vallee noted the initial issue raised by the crop circle puzzle is the construction of belief systems.

He suggested that if authentic crop circles are military experiments hidden in plain sight, then the social manipulation of information providing camouflage for such experiments is indeed quite remarkable. Vallee asserted that the Internet and its promotion of myth can be used to hide a massive technological effort taking place right in front of us, and that little more than the distortion of information presented to an eager to be misinformed audience is all that is required to make such an operation a fascinating success.

The main result is to disturb genuine research of paranormal phenomena, Vallee wrote, but acknowledged this is but one potential aspect of the overall effect. Internet social patterns are most certainly an increasingly important global tool, altering public perception of both the past and future. Mastering the use of such a tool, Vallee surmised, would be well worth the effort, much less a few bent stalks of corn. He suggested, “What we have here is a remarkable example of misdirection around a stunning experiment that remains in full view of a wide public that consistently fails to ask the right questions and keeps re-asserting bogus answers.” [5]

Possibilities and Final Thoughts – For Now

A large percentage of crop circles are indeed hoaxes or artistic creations. Of the remaining authentically interesting formations, in which unusual energy and exploded and/or bent nodes were evident, as compared to plants which were mechanically bent and laid down, possibilities include:

William C. “Lefty” Levengood's hypothesis that some formations may be the results of natural phenomena. Ion electron avalanches may particularly play key roles in the creation of some formations. A reasonable argument could be made that the existence of authentic non-geometric formations support this hypothesis, at least in select circumstances.

Some kind of non-human intelligence, alien or otherwise, may be creating at least some of the formations for any number of possible reasons. Some people believe this hypothesis is supported by cases of unidentified aerial phenomena reported around crop circles.

The military intelligence community, including its sub-contractors, may be creating at least some of the authentic crop circles for reasons that include weapons development and mastering propaganda techniques. Like the non-human intelligence hypothesis, this hypothesis is also supported by cases of unidentified aerial phenomena reported around the formations, just in this circumstance, researchers suspect the aerial phenomena is of quite human origin, rather than non-human origin. This hypothesis is additionally supported by claims of researchers being harassed and/or placed under surveillance by apparent military personnel. This hypothesis may be further supported by the existence of non-geometrically downed plants, particularly if a comprehensive study of data showed that patterns in the creation of downed plants emerged. It would be interesting to accurately identify if patterns might include authentic formations increasing in complexity over time and in ways that could be correlated with the evolution of confirmed weapons development projects.

More research and information is required to draw ultimate conclusions, and combinations of the above hypotheses are possible; they are not necessarily mutually exclusive of one another.

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During this recent series of posts on crop circles, my blog received a great deal more site traffic than normal. I sincerely appreciate all of your interest.

I was particularly pleased to see my friend from yesteryear and independent ufologist, Lindy Tucker, visit the blog and register. Thank you, Lindy!

I hope readers found their time well spent and I would very much like to hear from you. Your comments and perspectives are welcomed, as I value discussion very much. Please feel encouraged to register and comment here on the blog, or join my home forum and participate in discussions of crop circles and UFO-related subject matter at:

http://www.ufomania.proboards.com/

References:

[1] UFO Updates: Levengood To Look At Travis' Trees

http://www.ufoupdateslist.com/1999/jan/m30-030.shtml

[2] Boing Boing: Jacques Vallee

http://www.boingboing.net/author/jacques-vallee/

[3] Boing Boing: Of Flattened Flora and Expulsion Cavities: The crop circle controversy continues

http://www.boingboing.net/2010/04/28/of-flattened-flora-a.html

[4] Our Strange Planet: High Heat

http://ourstrangeplanet.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=74&Itemid=69

[5] Boing Boing: Jacques Vallee: Of Crop Circles, meme wars and web-based flypaper

http://www.boingboing.net/2010/06/21/of-crop-circles-meme.html