The Bizarre World of Doctor David Jacobs: An Interview and Review, Part Two of Three

Mental Health Issues 
            

Jacobs repeatedly suggested themes of what he has come to call 'abduction events' were formed from the testimonies of abductees. Similarly, the commonly held views among the UFO community of what takes place during alleged alien abductions are assumed to be the results of reports submitted by abductees.

The validity of such assumptions could in itself be debated, as a great deal has been competently questioned concerning researchers' selective citation and selective omission of details contained within witness statements and reports. Additionally, the origins, handling and lack of public access to such reports have been competently called into question.

I will currently pass on such considerations, however, choosing instead to enter the fact there are actually many, many reasons people may say the things they say in addition to the possibility the statements are accurate. While Jacobs, some of his peers and the UFO community tend to cite an allegedly significant number of witnesses who supposedly narrate strikingly similar accounts of often abusive encounters with non-human beings, there is a prevailing failure to objectively address virtually any of the conclusively known reasons why people commonly narrate extraordinary yet entirely confabulated experiences.

The resulting current culture within abduction research could reasonably be interpreted to be conducive to the exploitation of self-described witnesses, potentially damaging their mental health and emotional well being while omitting mention of relevant facts.

The predominant failure within ufology to acknowledge and address such reasons arguably contributes to the continuing alienation of all but a fringe element of the professional mental health community. The overall effect of the situation presents an incomplete and inaccurate assessment of what has come to be known as the abduction phenomenon, while sensationalizing circumstances of which there are actually quite valid and likely explanations. The resulting current culture within abduction research could reasonably be interpreted to be conducive to the exploitation of self-described witnesses, potentially damaging their mental health and emotional well being while omitting mention of relevant facts.

The common lack of accepting and discussing data set forth by the professional mental health community, much less minimizing said data, detrimentally fails to present a thorough and objective assessment of the situation. This is arguably conducive to creating unnecessary distress among self-described witnesses, potentially misrepresenting actuality and lacking objectivity. A reasonable debate can be made that not only does the UFO community commonly fail to produce objective analysis of the situation, but distorts actuality in a most disproportionate manner. The least likely explanations receive a majority of attention while infinitely more likely explanations, consisting of facts established within the medical profession, commonly fail to so much as receive anything more than a brief and dismissive mention.

The fact of the matter is the current Western mental health paradigm indicates emotional traumata, which may result from any number of common, although very distressing, situations, can indeed lead individuals to sincerely yet incorrectly interpret they experienced most extraordinary circumstances. Untreated severe emotional traumata should be expected to produce symptoms including inaccurately interpreting details of events, misidentifying individuals present during such events and decreased abilities to think critically. Symptoms also commonly include decreased abilities to accurately recall chronological orders of events, becoming mistakenly convinced of connections between circumstances that are actually unrelated, and incorrectly perceiving traumatic experiences to be recurring. Auditory and visual hallucinations are not uncommon, and symptoms may be re-stimulated and subsequently experienced under any number of potential conditions and unknown to the individual.

This is not to suggest all reports of abduction should be filed under untreated emotional traumata, as they should not. I invite, however, consideration of the following:

- Failing to address relevant mental health issues, of which emotional traumata is but one of many, does a disservice to witnesses who could benefit from receiving proper medical and therapeutic care.

- Failing to address relevant mental health issues paints an incomplete and grossly distorted picture of the abduction phenomenon.

I am confidently of the understanding the current mental health paradigm does not include encouraging a traumatized individual, regardless of possible original sources of the trauma, to participate in multiple regressive hypnosis sessions in which the likelihood of extraterrestrial abusers is explored at length.

- Even if we were to unquestionably accept witness testimonies and hypnotically retrieved information as representations of factual, alien-related events, witnesses commonly describe such events as extremely traumatic, in and of itself making the symptoms of traumata relevant. Both the welfare of the witness and the accuracy of research are then at risk. I am confidently of the understanding the current mental health paradigm does not include encouraging a traumatized individual, regardless of possible original sources of the trauma, to participate in multiple regressive hypnosis sessions in which the likelihood of extraterrestrial abusers is explored at length. Such circumstances demand much more attention and accountability from researchers and a community claiming to prioritize witness care and accurate information.

While certain researchers and UFO enthusiasts cite various supposed fantastic circumstances as seemingly indicative of the reality of alien abduction, a bit closer look reveals many such circumstances are not so fantastic after all. This is the case, as demonstrated above, when it is suggested that an extraordinarily large number of people claim to encounter aliens, assuming there actually is such a large group of people, and that the existence of such a group implies the claims are accurate. There are actually any number of reasons conclusively established as to why large amounts of people might incorrectly believe and say such things. Again, I wish to please emphasize this does not by any means indicate all reported abductions are due to emotional traumata, but it indeed establishes the alleged number of testimonies is not at all as peculiar as some enthusiasts try to lead us to believe.

Another commonly cited yet rather ill conceived point concerns accusations the scientific community refuses to provide ufology with serious consideration and review. I have no argument with the generally accepted perception that scientists currently enjoying successful careers consider it wise to publicly avoid the topic of alien abduction. However, there are exceptions. A more accurate description of the situation might include acknowledging academia in fact provides periodic qualified critical review, but the UFO community widely refuses to offer the work reasonable attention that would facilitate better understandings and productive dialog.

Qualified Experts

Critical review was provided by Oxford graduate Dr. Susan Blackmore, who has a degree in psychology and physiology in addition to her Ph.D. in parapsychology. Her article, Abduction by Aliens or Sleep Paralysis (Skeptical), was published in the May/June 1998 issue of Skeptical Inquirer Magazine. Among other points of interest, Blackmore addressed the now infamous Roper polls designed by Jacobs, Budd Hopkins and Ronald Westrum, funded by Robert Bigelow and seemingly attempting to identify experiencers of anomalous events such as alleged alien abduction. 

I found it quite questionable that Dr. Jacobs cited data from the polls during his Ozark presentation, as Blackmore and others offered valid reasons to seriously doubt the credibility of such data, particularly considering its fantastic nature. Jacobs failed to inform conference attendees of the concerns raised by Blackmore and her peers.

Blackmore explained:

The claim that 3.7 million Americans have been abducted was based on a Roper Poll conducted between July and September 1991 and published in 1992. The authors were Budd Hopkins, a painter and sculptor; David Jacobs, a historian; and Ron Westrum, a sociologist (Hopkins, Jacobs, and Westrum 1992). In its introduction John Mack, professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, claimed that hundreds of thousands of American men, women, and children may have experienced UFO abductions...

The Roper Organization provides a service for other questions to be tacked on to their own regular polls. In this case, 5,947 adults (a representative sample) were given a card listing eleven experiences and were asked to say whether each had happened to them more than twice, once or twice, or never. The experiences (and percentage of respondents reporting having had the experience at least once) included: seeing a ghost (11 percent), seeing and dreaming about UFOs (7 percent and 5 percent), and leaving the body (14 percent). Most important were the five "indicator experiences": 1) "Waking up paralyzed with a sense of a strange person or presence or something else in the room" (18 percent); 2) "Feeling that you were actually flying through the air although you didn't know why or how" (10 percent); 3) "Experiencing a period of time of an hour or more, in which you were apparently lost, but you could not remember why, or where you had been" (13 percent); 4) "Seeing unusual lights or balls of light in a room without knowing what was causing them, or where they came from" (8 percent); and 5) "Finding puzzling scars on your body and neither you nor anyone else remembering how you received them or where you got them" (8 percent).

The authors decided that "when a respondent answers `yes' to at least four of these five indicator questions, there is a strong possibility that individual is a UFO abductee."

The only justification given is that Hopkins and Jacobs worked with nearly five hundred abductees over a period of seventeen years. They noticed that many of their abductees reported these experiences and jumped to the conclusion that people who have four or more of the experiences are likely to be abductees.

From there, the stunning conclusion of the Roper Poll was reached. Out of the 5,947 people interviewed, 119 (or 2 percent) had four or five of the indicators. Since the population represented by the sample was 185 million, the total number was 3.7 million -- hence the conclusion that nearly four million Americans have been abducted by aliens.

Why did they not simply ask a question like, "Have you ever been abducted by aliens?"? They argue that this would not reveal the true extent of abduction experiences since many people only remember them after therapy or hypnosis. If abductions really occur, this argument may be valid. However, the strategy used in the Roper Poll does not solve the problem.

With some exceptions, many scientists have chosen to ignore the poll because it is so obviously flawed. However, because its major claim has received such wide publicity, I decided a little further investigation was worthwhile.

Ted Goertzel

Ted Goertzel is a professor in the Rutgers University Sociology Department. Like Dr. Blackmore, he also raised valid concerns about research methodology undertaken by Jacobs, Hopkins and Westrum during their designing and analyzing of the polls. In a 1994 work titled, Measuring the Prevalence of False Memories: A New Interpretation of a "UFO Abduction Survey," Goertzel suggested it was infinitely more likely the polls effectively measured the prevalence of false memories than encounters with aliens.

Explaining why, Goertzel wrote:

This conclusion is also strongly supported by Dawes and Mulford's (1993) innovative study at the University of Oregon which demonstrated that the dual nature of Hopkins, Jacobs and Westrum's first item, which asked about waking up paralyzed and about sensing a strange person in the room in the same item, actually led to an increased recollection of unusual phenomena as compared to a properly constructed single-issue survey item. Textbooks on questionnaire writing universally warn against "double-barreled" questions of this sort because they are known to give bad results. Dawes and Mulford confirm this and further offer the explanation that the combination of the two issues in one item causes a conjunction effect in memory which increases the likelihood of false recollection.

While the Hopkins, Jacobs and Westrum scale is not a valid measure of UFO abduction, they have inadvertently constructed a useful measure of another phenomenon: the tendency to have false memories.

Further evaluating alleged alien abduction as described by Jacobs, Goertzel continued:

Dr. David Jacobs was kind enough to speak to our class to familiarize the students with the issue, and I had the opportunity to speak with him informally after the lecture. At that time, I mentioned the "UFO abduction" case discussed in Siegel's (1992) book Fire in the Brain. Jacobs had absolutely no interest in learning of Siegel's findings, and expressed the view that no one was qualified to speak on this issue unless they had done dozens of interviews with abductees under hypnosis, as he had. He clearly fit the profile of the true believer as described in my book Turncoats and True Believers (1992). He used numerous ideological defense mechanisms to avoid confronting unwelcome evidence.

This closed mindedness can be observed in Jacobs' book Secret Life (1992). As the reviewer for the Journal of UFO Studies (Rodeghier, 1992: 186) observed: "Does Jacobs lead his witnesses? Sadly, one must answer in the affirmative." The whole weight of his argument in the book depends on hypnosis sessions which he conducted himself, and in which his strong convictions cannot help but influence the respondents.

The dogmatism of Jacobs and his associates has also been noted by others in the community of believers in UFO abductions. Abductee Karla Turner (1993: 26) has written that "it is a myth that alien abductions of humans follow a set pattern or agenda... David Jacobs... and other writers hold a diversity of intelligent, often ingenious theories, yet each makes the same error. They ignore parts of the abductions evidence--whatever details don't support their ideas." UFO investigators Stefula, Butler and Hansen (1993) confronted this dogmatism when their investigation of the prominent Linda Napolitano case uncovered serious flaws and apparent fabrications. When they shared this evidence with UFO experts including Budd Hopkins and David Jacobs, they found them completely unwilling to consider the evidence...

George Hansen asked me to ask David Jacobs for his reaction to their heartfelt memo, since he had not replied when they sent it to him. When I did so, he dismissed it out of hand, claiming that they were irresponsible members of the UFO fringe. He said the same about Karla Turner and other abduction researchers who differ from his and Budd Hopkins' understanding of the abduction phenomenon.

Jacobs did not mention or reference any of the above information during his Ozark presentation. He completely omitted reference to such qualified critical review while declaring polls indicated millions of people experience alien abduction.

Stephanie Kelley-Romano

Stephanie Kelley-Romano is an Associate Professor of Rhetoric at Bates College. She interviewed some 130 self-described alien abductees prior to the publication in 2006 of her Ph.D. thesis, Mythmaking in Alien Abduction Narratives, leading her to interpret the witness testimonies consist of social dynamics comparable to those found in religious movements. 

In her essay, Alien Abductions as Mythmaking, the associate professor explained that although she remained skeptical of the empirical reality of alien abductions, invalidating the claims was beyond the scope of her inquiry. "Still," she added, "I conclude that these people sincerely believe they have been kidnapped by extraterrestrial beings."

"In my classes, you can claim anything you want and if you can prove it, you will do well. If you can't, you won't," Kelley-Romano told Bates Magazine during an interview. 

She and fellow researchers Barbeito and Brown interpreted 'hybridization' narratives to likely be expressions of anxieties related to reproductive technologies, at least as compared to literal experiences. Additional factors likely to contribute to forming such narratives include influence of popular culture and influence from others who promote and support such beliefs.

"The gray aliens are often on Earth to start a hybrid race that can’t survive without nurturing from humans," she observed of the narratives and beliefs commonly circulating throughout the UFO community.

Kelley-Romano contended her work led her to observe abductee testimonies represent a religious-like evolving myth. "In the narratives," she explained, "you see people using their experience like a religion: for self-guidance on how to live or to achieve a sense of unity and transcendence."

...............................................................................................................................

The Bizarre World of Doctor David Jacobs: An Interview and Review, Part One of Three

The Bizarre World of Doctor David Jacobs: An Interview and Review, Part Three of Three

The Bizarre World of Doctor David Jacobs: An Interview and Review, Part One of Three

I initially spotted Dr. David Jacobs browsing the vendor area at the recent Ozark UFO Conference where he was a scheduled speaker. Clad in business casual with an accompanying blue sport jacket, he made his way from table to table of products, observing this and contemplating that, but not appearing particularly interested in any of it.

I approached him. Jacobs stood five-foot-something and wore glasses he seemed to peek over or under about as often as not. His white hair could reasonably have been considered to need a cut. He wore khaki pants accompanied by a worn and weathered old brown belt.

I introduced myself and explained I was the man who he agreed to provide a few minutes of time. I previously asked Jacobs via email if he would meet with me at the conference and allow me to ask him a few questions for a blog post, to which he cooperatively replied he would.

David Jacobs

We stood among the conference vendors as Jacobs tried to identify a suitable time to meet with me during the weekend. This interaction provided me the basis for forming a perspective that would continue to develop as the weekend progressed, a perspective that painted the relatively high profile historian and researcher of alien abduction as a rather 'absentminded professor.'

This is not, however, to imply I came to perceive Jacobs as particularly intellectually deficient or unusually challenged to persuade people to admire him. Not at all. As a matter of fact, and even with my admittedly predisposed negative opinion of his work, I found myself initially motivated to find him... likable. His abilities to win friends and influence people, so to speak, combined with his absentminded – even seemingly non-threatening – demeanor, offered me opportunities to consider how otherwise sensible individuals might find themselves rationalizing ways to accept his potentially dangerous fringe-research methodology and extraordinary claims.

During his public presentation, Jacobs quite effectively presented himself as a friendly - maybe even humble - man who never wanted to end up here, but this wacky UFO stuff left him no other choice but to accept the supposed reality of what he claimed is taking place. He framed himself as a victim of a stubborn scientific community that refuses to listen to him. He intermittently mumbled, cussed and made fun of himself during his Saturday night lecture.

“Damn,” he mumbled several times during his presentation, a reference to technological malfunctions and/or user errors he seemed to repeatedly experience while trying to operate electronic equipment.

“How many times can a person say damn in one life?” he then asked rhetorically, invoking waves of laughter from an audience apparently feeling increasingly both relieved and happy to be led to believe they should relate to the man. After all and as was the case with him, they did not understand how that equipment he was trying to use worked, either, and the scientific community refuses to listen to them, too.

At times he spoke rapidly, effectively measuring voice inflection as he employed long, run on sentences to metaphorically express the manic nature of alleged alien abduction and his claimed bewilderment with what his research supposedly revealed. Other times he more calmly presented the hundreds of attendees with third person, anonymous narration after narration of abductions, breeding programs and mind control – all committed by non-human beings... aliens and hybrids – but, mostly, he entertained the audience. They grew to like him. They liked the way he at least seemed to validate their personal notions, and they seemed to feel better about themselves while with him and listening to him.

In smaller groups of people, Jacobs was truly in his element. He was demonstrative and animated, yet at other times equally effective when soft spoken. He masterfully transferred emotion and motivated people, who clearly and quite willingly wanted to be motivated, to thoroughly consider and envision his described scenes and scenarios. They 'wanted to believe' and, in many circumstances, long had.

He would step forward among a group of a dozen or so conference attendees, as if taking a stage, wave his arms and confidently warn of an alien invasion, while followers huddled ever closer to hear supposed insider insights and cherished details. Then, periodically, he would ease the mounting tension he created, sighing softly about how frustratingly little we know as he lowered his head, timidly slumped his shoulders and took a step back.

Is there any validity to the work David Jacobs claims to conduct? Has science forsaken the man, as he suggested, or has he simply not provided the scientific community anything it can reasonably evaluate? These are the types of questions and related issues we will explore in this series of three posts, drawing upon the man's statements and using reviews from qualified experts as our guides. The previously published work of Susan Blackmore, Ted Goertzel and Stephanie Kelley-Romano will be cited. Recent comments generously provided to The UFO Trail by retired engineer Frank Purcell and microbiologist Dr. Tyler Kokjohn will be presented for consideration.

The vendor area at the Ozark UFO Conference

Standing with me in the vendor area, Jacobs pulled notes from his pockets and briefly glanced at both sides, ran his finger up and down a conference schedule while mumbling something or other about it, and thought aloud about how he lost his flash drive that he intended to use during his then imminent presentation, all during the process of trying to decide when we should meet. He abruptly looked up and asked if I had any special equipment I wanted to set up to interview him, the papers he held in his hands then suddenly seeming close to the status of trash.

I replied that all I wanted to use was a hand held audio recording device. He then asked if I had it with me, to which I informed him I could easily go get it.

“Let's talk,” he proposed.

The Interview

After retrieving my audio recorder I guided Dr. Jacobs to a room I noticed earlier that was adjacent to the larger vendor area. It was there that we pulled a couple of chairs together and proceeded to talk.

I noted how opportunities to test DNA are becoming increasingly available as large strides continue to be made in the evolution of sequencing technology. I asked if he found such evolving technology and related opportunities of interest.

“I am very, very interested in that,” Jacobs replied, explaining how his views of the kinds of research required to advance ufology have changed over the years. He described how when he was “just a UFO researcher” he thought astronomers and astrophysicists could be most helpful.

“Then when I became interested in the abduction phenomenon,” he continued, “and I began to do work in it, I thought that what we needed really was physiologists - and then gynecologists because of the reproductive quality of it. Now I think that what we need is neurologists.

“I think that's the most important thing we could possibly have is neurologists. However, what we also need is geneticists as well, people who can do DNA sequencing who can help us.”

Jacobs suggested “we,” a pronoun he consistently used to describe those who understand what he asserted to be “known” about topics alien and hybrid, have “learned more and more.” This, he declared, assists us in knowing where we should go from here.

“So, yes,” he answered as to whether or not he is interested in the evolving DNA sequencing technology. He added, however, that he sees many challenges, particularly with funding, stating, “DNA sequencing is not cheap, and looking for slight differences in DNA is not cheap.”

Jacobs indicated he is not optimistic that any significant advances in abduction research will be made in the near future, explaining, “I just think we're going to have to poke along as best we can and just try to figure out as much as we can, and eventually we're going to hit a wall. We're going to know as much as we can possibly know about the subject and after that it's going to have to be people with a lot of talent and a lot of knowledge, a lot of skills putting their heads together and trying to figure this thing out both scientifically, genetically and everything else. I don't know if that's going to happen in my lifetime.”

“Some that follow the field have been encouraged and optimistic about such websites as 23andMe,” I said. “That's a place that - starting at like nine dollars per month – one can send saliva and have it sequenced. Are you aware of the advances being made?”

“No, I'm not,” he replied. “I never heard of 23andMe. Thanks for telling me. I'll take a look at it.”

“Sure. The New York Times also recently ran an article on a company that for under $1000 does extensive sequencing. You're not aware of those kinds of advances?”

“No. I am aware that if you want to do professional sequencing looking for differences in DNA it can run up to three million dollars. This is something that I am aware of,” Jacobs explained, and went on to indicate he thought less than seven digits worth of sequencing may purchase little more than basic data.

“I think what they're just looking for in certain DNA sequencing,” Jacobs supposed, “for people like that is - I don't know what they're looking for. I don't know if they're looking for alien DNA or anything like that or if they're looking to see if there's something wrong with their fetus or if there's something wrong with them or if they have a certain chromosome that will yield Huntington's that killed Woody Guthrie and all that. So I'm not sure. I'd have to examine it more because most people when they also go for chromosomal sequencing they are looking for heredity – you know, where they come from. I've learned if you go back far enough, everybody's related to Queen Elizabeth.”

I stated, “A moment ago you mentioned it's difficult looking for slight DNA differences.”

“Yes.”

“What specifically leads you to believe there would not be large markers?”

“Because...” Jacobs began, thoughtfully paused a few seconds, and then continued, “now you're getting into the 'inside baseball' stuff. If you're dealing with alien DNA there's going to be huge markers. I don't even know if they have DNA; I can't tell you that for sure. So that's going to be almost impossible to get, unless you're in a situation where you can cut off one of their little fingers - but it's just not going to happen - but if you're interested in hybrid DNA, that's different.

“With hybrid DNA we have Bill Chalker writing a book in Australia called Hair of the Alien, and that's a hybrid hair. It's mitochondrial DNA and they can only find out certain things, although recently they made strides in sequencing mitochondrial DNA and they can find out more things now. When the book first came out all they could find out was heritage – the mother's heritage.

“What we need then is not just hybrid DNA but – and if you read my book The Threat, you realize I divided hybrids into early stage, middle stage and late stage for convenience sake, although it's a little more subtle than that, obviously – but now there is what I call human stage, who really look human; who are human except that they can do things that other hybrids and aliens can do and we can't. They can control people, and without that control obviously there would be no abduction phenomenon.

"At that point you're dealing with a human. This person is human in every way except for sleep cycle and the ability to control others."

“At that point you're dealing with a human. This person is human in every way except for sleep cycle and the ability to control others. Searching for that, which is basically a brain situation, it seems to me would be difficult. Now, I don't know, but it seems to me it would be.”

I asked, “Am I correct in my interpretation that you believe these hybrids will be released into the general population?”

“This is what abductees tell me, this is what abductees tell me. It's not something that I wanted to hear. It's not something that I led them into. In fact, I tried to lead them away from it but they won't have it. They know what they remember and they know what's going on with them, and these are people who have already passed all sorts of tests about whether they can be led or whether they're vulnerable or anything like that – and the hypnosis I do is extremely light. It's just relaxation techniques. I'm not a professional hypnotist, obviously, although I have trained a whole bunch of other people to do this kind of work. The fact is, though, that this is what they tell me.”

Jacobs claimed he is embarrassed to talk about such circumstances, adding that, as an academic, he “must go where the evidence leads” him. He claimed to believe it led him “into this embarrassing position.”

“Am I correct, with the name of the book being The Threat,” I asked, “that you suppose this is not for benevolent purposes as the alleged hybrids enter our domain?”

Jacobs explained the publisher, Simon and Schuster, selected the name of the book. He stated he was opposed to the title but eventually printing proceeded.

“However,” he went on, “I must say that over the years since The Threat came out, I have come to think that this is a threatening situation. I really look upon it as catastrophic, I must say, but not necessarily malevolence. They're not here to hurt us, I don't think. I don't really know, but I don't think. They're not here to, you know, stomp on Tokyo or destroy New York or something like that, so we really don't know.”

“Now,” Jacobs continued, “the question is if hybrids integrate into society, why? Why are they doing that? We do not know the answer to that question because they don't tell abductees, therefore we do not know. That is the last remaining question of huge magnitude that we don't know, I think.”

“Can you offer any comment on how they reproduce or its envisioned they reproduce?”

“You mean aliens or hybrids?” he asked.

“Either/or.”

“Okay, well, with aliens we do not know how they reproduce. There's no reproductive organs. When people say they've had sex with aliens, with grey aliens, it can't be true.

“They might be stamped out of a dye, they might be cloned, we really don't know how that happens. We don't know the behind the scenes aspect of that.

"With hybrids, we know the hybrids are made out of - when women describe eggs being taken, men describe the sperm being taken, and then they're - the fetus is put in a - you know, the egg is fertilized."

“With hybrids, we know the hybrids are made out of - when women describe eggs being taken, men describe the sperm being taken, and then they're - the fetus is put in a - you know, the egg is fertilized. Something happens then. Either DNA is added or something is altered which we don't know because we don't know any of this technological stuff. The fetus is reintroduced into the woman's uterus or other places in the woman's body near the uterus and between ten, eleven weeks, they're removed. It's a fetal implant, fetal extraction and this happens to virtually all women.

“Then they're sort of kept in tanks until they are – you can't use the word 'born' and you can't use the word 'hatched' - until they're taken out of the tanks.”

“...And you get this information...?”

“From abductees who see this. This is standard stuff. I literally have hundreds of cases of this. This is just primary stuff.

“Then you get some that look more alien, some that look in the middle, some that look more human in the spectrum, but as years have gone by we've seen more and more human - late stage ones as I call them. Now we're seeing human ones.”

Jacobs continued to describe the “human ones.”

“The human ones and the late stage ones, we think, reproduce normally. However, we don't know because we do not know if late stage or human hybrids and late stage males and females get together to produce a little bitty baby. We don't know that. My guess is they don't.

“My guess is they skip certain procedures and just impregnate a normal human female, and the fetus is taken out between nine and eleven weeks. So that's how they reproduce, but aliens, we don't have a clue. We are clueless about that, and you'd think after all these years of studying the subject, we'd know, but we don't because abductees don't. It's all behind the scenes stuff.”

We discussed further why Jacobs stated millions of dollars in funding is required to conduct DNA tests on individuals or items allegedly coming in contact with aliens or hybrids.

“The reason I say millions,” Jacobs said, “is because Lloyd Pye has this skull and he estimates it costs several million dollars to get the skull completely sequenced. That estimate apparently has been agreed upon by other people too.

“The point is that if somebody comes along and wants to do it, fine, then, you know. I have taken material for analysis to various DNA testing places. They had negative results. There wasn't enough of it or they couldn't tell what it was – that sort of thing.”

“Are these tests available for the public to review?”

“Not yet.”

“Will they be?”

“I don't know. One I did many years ago at a local lab in Delaware. Another one was done by American Testing Institute in New York City – American Chemical? I can't remember the name of it now. That was also many years ago – about brown stains that people have; that's routinely there.

“I had another one done for a TV show and they didn't know what the heck it was. They just sort of laughed about it and I got to look at those reports.

“Maybe one day I'll put them on the Internet. I don't know, but I'm still old school. It never occurs to me to put things on the Internet, but that's an idea 'cause they're just sitting in my files. But with this purity of DNA that comes directly from a hybrid, that would be another order of things.”

“Am I correct in my understanding,” I asked, “that Barbara Lamb claims to personally know a hybrid?”

“You're going to have to ask Barbara that. I don't know. I haven't talked to Barbara in a couple of years, actually.”

“What I'm getting at,” I explained, “again, is the possible opportunities to do some testing. It would seem like she would prioritize such a thing if she knew a hybrid... Am I correct that you understood hybrids to have sent you text messages and emails?”

“Yes, yes,” Jacobs said, “and that I will be writing a book about. Within context, you'll see the build up to it and how it's all logical; how this came about. Now, I can't tell whether it's a hoax or not. The only way whether I can tell if it's a hoax is by looking in this person's window while typing, instant messaging, and she lives 125 miles away from me – and I'd have to be typing the whole way and then looking in her window to see whether she's sitting there or some guy's sitting there, ya know what I mean?

“So, I don't know. All I know is that the woman I've known for 13 years and I still know her, and she's wonderful and she's great, and she's never ever, ever, ever lied to me in any conceivable way.”

“Is this the woman known as Elizabeth?”

“Yes.”

“Okay,” I began, “I can empathize with someone being 125 miles away... I can empathize with that -”

“You can't look in her windows anyway,” Jacobs interjected. “She sent me pictures of her room. There are curtains and the air conditioner and this and that and you can't even see inside.”

“...and can you empathize,” I continued and asked, “with people that might say if a camera or fingerprint stood between you and a Nobel, it seems like we could figure out how to get the goods on this hybrid?”

“It was much more difficult than you think. This was something that - we – it's much more easy – she wouldn't even remember what was happening until I'd talk with her the next day. By that time, there are no fingerprints. She's already - I'm just going to have to write this thing up and let people decide for themselves. I'll let people decide for themselves on this but, to me, it was typical hybrid discussion, having heard hundreds and hundreds of hybrid discussions from abductees – but I don't know, we'll see, we'll see.

“I'm not going to make any claims one way or the other. All I know is it's one of the scariest things that ever happened to me.”

As I began to ask another question, Jacobs requested I turn off the audio recorder. I complied. We then briefly discussed a couple more aspects of his research and career before concluding our interaction. I appreciate the time Dr. Jacobs offered me and his willingness to meet with me.

Concerns

Having now conducted somewhat of an interview with Dr. Jacobs, attended his presentation at the Ozark UFO Conference, observed discussions in which he participated throughout the weekend of the conference, and reflected upon it all, I identify several concerns with his statements and suggested lines of reasoning. Among the first items I found worthy of calling into question was that, in so many words, Jacobs was seemingly suggesting it is relatively futile to try to obtain physical evidence of the beings conducting the abductions because the abductions are now being carried out by humans - manufactured by aliens, in what we are apparently led to believe are the results of some type of devious strategy. There seem to be a number of potentially mentally unhealthy and concerning aspects of entertaining such suggestions, but I will leave it at that for now.

Another item deserving much more clarification is the doctor's mention of undertaking previous DNA research. This is potentially significant for a number of reasons, including raising the issue of how Temple University defined the work conducted by Jacobs.

It is reasonable for the UFO community and academia to expect transparency concerning such activities, including clearly stated research objectives, methodologies and outcomes. These are circumstances legitimately deserving further clarification and are universally recognized as such among professional researchers of any discipline.

.......................................................................................................................................

The Bizarre World of Doctor David Jacobs: An Interview and Review, Part Two of Three

The Bizarre World of Doctor David Jacobs: An Interview and Review, Part Three of Three

Leslie Kean: Wolf! Wolf!

Sources close to The UFO Trail indicate Leslie Kean and Chilean authorities have much more data supporting the existence of nearby wolves than they have yet fully disclosed. While skeptics have been quick to warn no wolf has been substantiated, Kean continued to assert monumental film footage is securely in the hands of the Chileans, urging that all information be fully taken into account before dismissing the carnivores out of hand.

"But they are the ones withholding the alleged footage," one interested party complained. "What the hell is she talking about?"

Kean defended her reporting methods and the investigative techniques of the Chileans, suggesting she has fallen victim to an anti-wolf debunking campaign. They will go to any lengths to deny the public the truth, Kean reportedly told those close to her, repeatedly pointing out she has generals, pilots and government officials going on record to confirm the reality of a large scale wolf cover-up.

"She and Bermudez brought it all up and sensationalized it in the first place," one critical thinker, commenting on the condition of anonymity due to fearing retribution for their lack of gullibility, informed The UFO Trail. "They cried wolf and then got all butt hurt people expected them to actually produce the evidence they claimed to have." 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For related information, see:

A Chilean page recently removed from the Internet that included another video of the exact air show in question in which virtually every scene contained insects and birds - and Kean continued to fail to either acknowledge or address.

A video created by stiver, the finder of the above Chilean page/video, addressing relevant details. 

Another video created by stiver, referencing just a few of the discrepancies contained in Kean's HP follow up article.

Research worthy of consideration conducted by DrDil and HOAXKiller1.

A 2011 article, FAA Instructions to Staff on UFO Sightings Debunk Cover-Up Claims, written by Ryan Dube and demonstrating how Kean refused to revise her position on a story, publishing her preferred version, even after having been presented evidence directly contradicting her preconceived angle.

Ozark UFO Conference

The UFO Trail recently wound through the mountains of Arkansas to the 25th Ozark UFO Conference. Eureka Springs hosted the event April 13-15 at the Best Western Inn of the Ozarks. The Inn has ample and nice rooms, an adequate on site restaurant and a convention center well equipped to accommodate the hundreds of conference attendees.

Eureka Springs is home to several spots of interest and is a renowned tourist destination. Its long history includes generations of travelers seeking to have their ailments healed in the waters bubbling through the local springs. The resulting current culture includes shades of New Age mentalities represented in the many art galleries and spas which are often housed in historic buildings.

Speaker Tactics

Maybe I'm jaded. Maybe I'm cynical.

Okay, I admit it, I am jaded and cynical. How can we be perpetually fed empty promises, year after year, turning into decade after decade, that world-changing, ET-related events are imminent, and not become cynical? Can I get an amen from the choir for those dipped in the rhetoric bath, anointed in the spirit of unquestioning belief, and now hungering ravenously for a taste of the ever-elusive proof the ufology speakers circuit has promised to be forthcoming again and again?

The problem is not limited to overzealous ETH'ers. Far from it. Sure, some of the stuff passed off as research by the pro-alien crowd should make attendees blush at the mention. It can be embarrassing just to hear, like watching someone shamelessly lie while everyone else in the room knows the liar is about to be confronted by the undeniable truth.



The convention center on the grounds of the
Best Western Inn of the Ozarks 

However and as Mick observed, as every cop is a criminal and all the sinners saints, as heads is tails there are indeed two poles that keep the world turning, and UFO Land is no different. Yes, we have the pseudo-investigators who make a mockery of the scientific process and ignore the actual definitions of certain words such as 'fact,' but we also have the pseudo-skeptics mucking things up too.

Like their counterparts, pseudo-skeptics must rely on the use of terms that solicit favorable emotional responses, due to their failure to present verifiable and accurate information. They employ such tactics as selective omission of circumstances and dismissing relevant details out of hand. The natural habitats of the pseudo-skeptics are the coattails of pseudo-investigators, where plenty of material is readily available for their pontification and poorly conceived dissection.

Nightly parties were held in an executive suite
temporarily dubbed Jean's Joint 

Sincere skepticism is a good thing. A healthily skeptical individual simply wants adequate information provided to support a conclusion prior to forming the conclusion. They generally consider information to fall into one of three basic categories: that which can be confirmed as accurate, that which can be verified as false, or that which requires suspension of judgment pending further investigation. A pseudo-skeptic does not practice such methods and only masquerades as a critical thinker.

The pseudo-skeptics and pseudo-investigators have much in common and find one another mutually useful for such purposes as perpetuating conflict and the subsequent attention. They have little difference, actually, save the specific content of their rants, and very much depend on one another for survival. They employ the very same methods as each other in their efforts to win your attention and approval. What's puzzling you is the nature of their game (ooh, ooh).

Vendor Tactics



Some 35 vendors attended

Vendors at the conference offered a wide variety of goods and services. Back issues of Fate Magazine were available. You could also get a “reading” from a “Native American seer/medium,” or learn about laws of material wealth as “revealed by the masters.”

There was a self-proclaimed “angelic channel,” and Arkansas Mufonians were available if you had a desire to speak with them. Alleged healers were there and concoctions were offered with names like “Egyptian Magic,” along with various other “tools for evolution.”

While browsing the books, magazines and stacks of additional printed materials, I observed many different references to non-human beings, usually seemingly assumed to be alien in some way, shape or form. Such beings were referred to as “custodians,” “father confusers,” “faeries,” “angels,” various types of message carriers and so on.

I try to be tolerant of people. I really do. After all, we each must find our own ways in these lives, adjusting our ideas and beliefs until we are comfortable with them – and then adjusting them some more. Suffice it to say sometimes it is just more difficult than other times for me to accept the paths people choose when those paths oppress the choices of others.

Scenes such as the Ozark UFO Conference represent many different demographics, and the demographics range from people who are sincere and well meaning to those much, much less so. People are led astray and ultimately hurt who attempt nothing more negligent than to learn about themselves and their environments while cultivating relationships with a supreme being of their understandings. I have come to find such circumstances quite disappointing.

Harold Daniel of SightingsReport.com

A potentially positive aspect of the vendor area included the opportunity to meet an ambitious young man named Harold Daniel of Austin, Texas. He launched a website, UFO Sightings Report (SigthingsReport.com), where he would appreciate you looking around and hopefully returning.

Mr. Daniel's interest in UFOs led him to develop a site where visitors can report sightings and easily access reports. Users can also be alerted in real time to sightings taking place in their geographic areas, hopefully facilitating multiple witness sightings, flying objects filmed by independent witnesses in multiple locations and similar such potentially advantageous circumstances.  

Assessment

My decades of wandering through UFO Land have now led me to be a bit less angry at the charlatans and deceitful elements, and more conscious of our personal responsibilities in the situations. Buyer beware, so to speak.

Ultimately, if we buy the books and fund the rhetoric, whichever side of the foolishness it falls on, we will get more of same. It's simple capitalism and marketing; supply and demand.

If we are unsatisfied with who is on the stage and what we are being told, we can look to one another for some of the reasons it is taking place. If no one bought the goods, they would stop selling. 'Who killed the Kennedys?,' 'after all, it was you and me' and all that stuff.

Many sincere and apparently honest people attended the 2012 Ozark UFO Conference. They were polite, cordial and sociable.

I am not personally affiliated with the event organizers or staff. My interactions with them were very positive. I found event staff to be very friendly and I believe those I talked to genuinely wanted to be helpful.

It is for such reasons it concerns me to write what could easily be interpreted as a negative review. It is not that I particularly blame any given event and its organizers for the overall challenges within ufology, but that does not change the fact there are indeed severe challenges. 

I think my observations indicate a lot of people are a little interested in ufology and the abduction phenomenon. The vast majority of them, however, do not dig deep enough to develop accurate understandings of the negative dynamics taking place. This manifests as those of us who call attention to such negative dynamics to be labeled as 'trouble makers,' 'debunkers,' 'conspiracy theorists' and the like.

May we seek the truth and have the courage to face it when we find it.