Thursday, November 19, 2015

Book Review: 'Chameleo' by Robert Guffey

'Chameleo: A Strange but True Story of Invisible Spies,
Heroin Addiction, and Homeland Security'
The nonfiction 'Chameleo' could have been a great case study of paranormal phenomena, or so it might initially seem. Talented author and college-level educator Robert Guffey's description of unfolding bizarre events and seeming synchronicities of extremely low probability are more than a little reminiscent of such classics as Keel's 'Mothman'. However, Guffey and his unlikely protagonist, whom he simply happened to have known since high school, do not hold supernatural or extraterrestrial beings responsible for their descent into high strangeness. They lay the blame squarely at the feet of the United States federal government, and with good reason, it would seem, if Guffey reported the saga with reasonable accuracy.

A number of circumstances make the plight of Dion Fuller, a drug addict struggling to cope with life even on his best days and absent government harassment, significantly different than the typical and often nebulous claims of what have come to be known as Targeted Individuals, MILABs and alien abductees. For one thing, Dion's lifestyle led to a series of choices in 2003 that culminated into being served a search warrant by Special Agent Lita A. Johnston and company of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS). Dion had allowed a young man to hang out a few days at his apartment, a "party house" frequented by Greater San Diego drug addicts and drifters. The guy was AWOL from Camp Pendleton, and had stolen some night vision goggles and other equipment of which NCIS took great interest. Dion was reportedly held and interrogated for six days. It was after his release without charges that the high strangeness and surveillance ensued. Most people who report such circumstances do not have as clear a perceived point of origin for where and when the events started. Neither do they have a point of contact, as Lita Johnston served not just for Dion, but for peripheral players who also got in touch with her when the pot boiled and spilled.

Some readers will recall I blogged about NCIS when the agency and the American Psychological Association (APA) were implicated in an ethics investigation documented in the Hoffman Report. NCIS employed an APA psychologist who explored the use of hypnosis as an interrogation tool on Petty Officer Daniel King, a young man accused of spying in 1999 and grilled for two years before being released without formal charges.

Early on in the reading of 'Chameleo' I considered how difficult it is to sort out extraordinary claims because the claimant becomes increasingly traumatized and subject to reporting inaccuracies even if some of the events actually happened as perceived. A reasonable question becomes if the individual was mad or driven to madness. Did the person perceive such things because they are hysterical or are they hysterical because of what they saw? 

I have considered similar dynamics between self-described investigators and alleged alien abductees. If a hypnotist/investigator proceeds to conduct months or years of hypnotic regression sessions with an individual about alleged menacing visitors from the far reaches of the universe, it would seem eventual conditions and resulting symptoms of emotional trauma should be expected to manifest in the behavior of the hypnosis subject and considered the norm, not the exception. Again, we might wonder if the individual was driven to extreme perceptions and behaviors by quite human beings and the hypnosis sessions themselves, not the alleged phenomena focused upon in the sessions.

Another thing that seems to make Dion and Guffey's story rather unique as compared to similar reports is their path led them face-to-face with Richard Schowengerdt, an aerospace engineer who worked on Top Secret projects. He confirmed the existence of technology that supported Dion's claims of invisible stalkers, surreal scenery outside his window, inexplicably expanded rooms and similar perceptions. As a matter of fact, the engineer invented and held a patent on some of it. What's more, related research and development, it turned out, were taking place literally down the street from Dion's apartment. Guffey conducted an interview with Schowengerdt published in the March, 2007, edition of 'UFO Magazine'. I found it interesting and perhaps telling of a UFO community biased towards the extraterrestrial hypothesis that Guffey indicated he received virtually no comments or feedback about the article, 'To See the Invisible Man'.

'Chameleo' is an entertaining read, even hilarious at times, but this is not to suggest it minimizes the potential significance of its otherwise dark subject matter. Robert Guffey tells the story in sometimes unflattering yet appreciated frankness of the goings ons among the fringe subculture and the dysfunctional people who inhabit it. A typical saga of investigator and experiencer it is not – and it should arguably make us consider how easily it could have been if the writer had opted to frame the events in such contexts.

Readers are bound to agree with some of Guffey's points and disagree with others, yet he has produced a work that should be read by those sincerely desiring to better understand such claims and the people who make them. We can only wonder how many Dions may be out there who did not happen to have gone to high school with a future professional writer.

'Chameleo' by Robert Guffey is published by OR Books. It contains 264 pages in paperback for 18 USD. Also available in e-book.   

4 comments:

  1. - UFOs = crazies = drugs
    Any wonder Homeland Security wouldn’t be ‘tracking’ UFO bloggers - it’s as obvious as FBI tracking commies in the 50s and infiltrating UFO groups (smiley face -but seriously ).

    (We might add “extraordinary claims “ = “extraordinary drugs”)

    Furthermore, if you ‘do’ or are involved with someone who does use illegal drugs you are associated with other illegal activities …..buying and selling stolen ‘goods’ , guns, ammo, etc.

    and if you aren’t paranoid you probably won’t be ‘free’ for long - it’s a state of mind in mutual self hypnosis, ‘u r being followed’ all the time…the followers and the followed

    Let me restate this > People ‘involved’ (like believers) with UFOs are a likely source of dangerous nut cases who need surveillance ….it’s obvious.

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  2. Thats very interesting mouseovermoon...lets take it to its logical conclusion..
    ..ufo=crazies=drugs=fear=Hscb=moneylaudering=cartels=Cia=doj=gunrunning=fear=patriots=terrorists=fear incorporated..where does it end my friend?..where is the bottom line..where does the protection racket end?

    ..

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    1. Manuel - Indeed, How safe are we when yet again the news reports another epidemic of heroin addiction- if ‘they’ can get this stuff past the border guards … but why isn’t the pursuit of happiness legal ?

      Curiously, I’ve been dealing with a new phone which has been sounding all alarms the past 3 days- no way to turn ‘em off ? Is it my idiocy , Aliens, or Homeland Security ?

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  3. Moon I hear ya..paranoia can get the best of anyone..whether individuals or a state..the consequences do not end well for the rest of us
    http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2015/11/30/internet-provider-gagged-for-decade-reveals-what-fbi-wanted-without-warrant
    Internet Provider Gagged for Decade Reveals What FBI Wanted Without Warrant
    A very long legal fight is over.
    For years after receiving a national security letter from the FBI, he was an anonymous litigant and unnamed op-ed writer, barred by a gag order from revealing that he had received a warrantless demand for customer information. Now, Nicholas Merrill’s gag order has been lifted in full, and – apparently for the first time – an NSL recipient can speak openly without fear of punishment.

    Merrill, owner of now-defunct Calyx Internet Access, provided Internet service to about 200 customers when he received the order in February 2004. He refused to turn over the records of the targeted customer and went to court with American Civil Liberties Union representation.

    Merrill won the right to identify himself in 2010, but could not say what the ultimately withdrawn letter said. In August, a federal judge ordered the associated gag order lifted, with a 90-day pause to allow the Justice Department time to appeal, which it chose not to do.

    Victory in hand, Merrill said Monday that the NSL he received demanded his customer’s full Internet browsing history, records of online purchases, a list of Internet Protocol addresses for the target's contacts and location information. A copy of the document with more technical language was released
    The FBI issued more than 400,000 national security letters between 2003 and 2011, between 30,000 and more than 55,000 each year, according to a report issued last year by the Justice Department’s inspector general.

    As for the drug aspect..I doubt those letters helped the war on drugs either..The major banks laundering the proceeds got off with fines and no jail., noblesse oblige.
    a good source of information was Sibel Edmonds..to wit..
    In this ground-breaking interview, famed FBI whistleblower and Boiling Frogs Post founder Sibel Edmonds lays out the thread connecting NATO’s Gladio operations to Turkish paramilitaries and ultra-nationalists, and how the operation continues through cooperation with terrorists and the Islamization of Central Asia and the Caucasus. From Abdullah Çatlı’s remarkable life (and death) to the rise of Fethullah Gulen’s $25 billion (CIA-supported) Islamic network to the NATO takeover of the Afghan poppy crop in the wake of 9/11, you won’t want to miss a moment of this riveting conversation. - See more at: http://www.boilingfrogspost.com/2013/01/30/sibel-edmonds-on-nato-terrorism-911-and-drug-running/#sthash.C9urEap6.dpuf

    Moon..between us..i personally thing some of the people like collecting data..ya know? are like hoarders..they have jillions of them I hear..but cant use them..It may even be a fetish..truth be told..what else can ya do with a haystack?:)

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