Hi all,
Introduction:
As many blog readers will be aware, I facilitated a team of Adelaide based researchers (members of the Australian UFO Research Association) who looked for, located, and documented the file holdings of the Australian government, between 2003-2008. I now continue this work as an individual, as I slowly find more and more files in the National Archives of Australia. It is for this reason, as well as others, that I looked forward to reading a new, scholarly, work titled "UFOs and Government: A Historical Inquiry" written by members of the UFO History group, and published in 2012. The publisher is Anomalist Books of San Antonio, Tx, USA. ISBN is 19-33-66-55-80. My copy was courtesy of a member of the group, Jan Aldrich.
Members of the Group:
A little rundown of the group's members is in order. Jan Aldrich is formerly of the US Army; Bill Chalker is a renowned Australian researcher who was one of the first to get a look at Australian government files; and Barry Greenwood is co-author of the groundbreaking book "Clear Intent." Vicente-Juan Ballester Olmos worked with the Spanish government's Air Force to review their files for public release; Robert Powell is MUFON's Research Director; Steve Purcell is a member of MUFON's STAR field investigation team; Clas Svahn is vice-chair of the Archives for UFO Research; Michael Swords is a board member of CUFOs, and Richard Thieme is an author and speaker. As you can see, the list of contributors to this work, speaks volumes about the serious nature of the quality of the contents.
The USA:
The major portion of the book is dedicated to the exploration of the phenomenon by various elements of the US government. 13 of the 20 chapters of this massive 580 page book relates to the US experience. However, this work starts with two chapters which discuss pre 1947 events in non-US countries. The first delves into World War Two observations of what came to be known as "foo fighters." The second takes a look at the Scandinavian "Ghost Rockets."
This introductory material paves the way for an excellent, in-depth review of the US government's actions (and inactions) regarding what started off as "Flying Discs." We read of the formation and demise of Projects Sign and Grudge; of reports during the Korean War; and the official response to the 1952 Washington events.
There were some surprises for me in this book. In Feb 1950 the US Navy presented an intelligence analysis on the subject. The book states "This is a mild surprise to modern historians because, although it has been known that the Navy was getting copies of Air Force reports at least since late 1948 the existence of a formalised method of UFO case analysis by Naval Intelligence has only been suspected." (p.90.)
"The CIA solution:"
Chapter nine was of particular interest to me, as I had previously read much material on the involvement of the CIA. "The CIA analysts viewed the Air Force handling of the UFO problem as honest but inadequate." (p.175.)
Chapter 12 "Something Closer This Way comes" reminded me that the American experience, up to that stage, was one where the "unknowns" were in the air and not on the ground. This was opposed to the 1954 experience in France where many close encounters on the ground were being reported. This, to a degree, set the US government's responses in context.
The classic Nov 1957 Levelland, Texas, "close encounters" with multiple events, met with a limited USAF response. Lt Col William Brunson's reports included "...would suggest that Saucedo was unreliable, the sheriff had seen lighting and electrical storms, and Neville Wright must have encountered a rare case of ball lighting." (p.254.)
NICAP v the USAF:
The saga of the civilian group NICAP versus the USAF is examined in depth, telling the story of NICAP's use of the political arena to push for serious research. The book provides a far more in depth exploration of this era than most others. We read of the characters on both side of the debate.
The 1960's:
Moving into the 1960's we come to chapter 14 "The Colorado project" and find strong support for the fact that the Project lacked a proper, scientific approach. In an interesting twist, this lack of scientific rigour "...awakened many academics and intellectuals, and they came, at least briefly, out of the closet with their interest." (p.332.)
With the release of the University of Colorado report came the demise of the USAF "Project Blue Book." "...the defense function could be performed within the framework established for intelligence and surveillance operations without the continuance of a special unit such as Project Blue Book" said the USAF. (p.336.)
The final chapter of the US involvement, chapter 15, takes the story from 1969 through to the "Stephenville lights" of 2008. "Government agencies continued to be interested in the phenomenon, as we have seen." (p.349.) The Roswell incident was responded to by the USAF in two reports "The Roswell Report: Fact versus Fiction in the New Mexico desert," in 1994, and the 1997 "The Roswell Report: Case Closed."
Other countries:
The government response in some other countries has been different to that of the USA.
In chapter 16 "The Swedish Military's UFO History" we learn of the interaction between the official Swedish Defence Research Institute (FOA, now FOI) and the civilian group UFO-Sweden. "This cooperation and sharing of information between a civilian UFO group and a military UFO desk is unique." (p.371.)
As regards to the Australian experience "The Australian response was more of a middle ground," (p373) between the USAF's no official program from 1969, and the UK's, secrecy. Bill Chalker competently covers the RAAF's involvement, together with the early efforts of the Department of Civil Aviation. Harry Turner's extensive investigations and role, are well set out. A number of well known, and not so well known Australian cases, are documented, together with the official Australian response.
Chapters 18 and 19 set out the government's response in Spain and France respectively. "Historically speaking, two stages are distinguished in the performance of the Spanish Air Force in the UFO business: (a) secrecy (1962-1990) and (b) disclosure (1990-1999.)" (p.437.)
In France, science studies the phenomenon, not the French Air Force. "The support provided to GEIPAN by the French government illustrates the significance that one of the world's major powers places upon the scientific understanding of the UFO phenomenon." (p.453.)
Finally, chapter 20 takes a brief look at the government's response in Belgium, the Soviet Union and Brazil.
Conclusion:
The book's Epilogue includes "This is exactly our conclusion - many UFO incidents have occurred and are documented in the governmental sources, for which no obvious explanation was, nor is, available." (p.469.)
My final thoughts:
"UFOs and Government" is a thoroughly, well researched and enjoyable read. It makes a magnificent contribution to our knowledge of global governmental response to the phenomenon.
I heartily recommend it as an essential part of any serious researcher's library.
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Friday, August 24, 2012
Valentich - the rest of the file is available
Hi all,
I previously reported on the release, by the National Archives of Australia (NAA) of the major part of file series B1497 control symbol V116/783/1047, titled "DSJ - Cape Ottway to King Island 21 October 1978 - Aircraft missing." This was the Australian Government's Air Accident Investigation file on the disappearance of aircraft VH-DSJ, piloted by Frederick Valentich.
The file released by the NAA, under the Archives Act allowed access to documents on the file, which were more than 30 years old. As I requested this file in 2012, this meant papers up to 1983 were released to me. This left an unknown number of folios (a folio can mean one or more papers) on the file up until the file was closed and placed in the NAA.
I therefore submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to the file's current owner, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB), requesting the rest of the folios on the file. I had little hope of finding anything of real value, given that the final report on the disappearance of the aircraft and pilot appeared on papers released under the Archives Act. However, I thought that I would be thorough, and obtain the rest of the file's documents. If no-one obtained the papers, there would always be some conspiracy theory that there was something hidden on the rest of the file.
I have just received these documents. What was on the file beyond 1983?
Authority to make this decision:
The decision maker in response to my FOI Act request, was Ian Sangston, General Manager, Aviation Safety Investigations, Australian Transport Safety Bureau.
I was advised that there are 23 folios on file V116/783/1047 relevant to my request. These documents fall into one of three categories:
1. Documents released in full - 3
2. Documents released with some deletions - 17
3. Documents totally exempt form release - 2.
That totals 22 folios. One folio is several pages long; four pages of it are exempt; one page released with some deletions and one page fully released. This totals the 23 folios.
What are the folios?
1. 26 Jun 1985. From Bureau of Air Safety Investigation (BASI) to Trans Media Productions Pty Ltd. "I refer to your Freedom of Information request...for a copy of an unedited tape recording of the conversation between Mr F Valentich and Melbourne Flight Service on 21 October 1978. it is Departmental practice to recycle tapes and the particular tape to which you refer has, after investigation of Mr Valentich's disappearance, been returned to service. As no other tape recording of the conversation is held by the Department, the Department is unable to comply with your request."
2. 25 Jun 1985. From Trans Media productions -Channel 9 TV, to the Department. (Keith's note - this document is almost unreadable due to being very faint, but would appear to be the request alluded to in 1 above.
3. 26 Jun 1985. Internal memo from Regional Director, Victoria, to Director, BASI. I propose to reply to Trans media productions as per the draft here.
4. 11 Jul 1985. Letter from Trans Media Productions to BASI. "Is the tape in the archives of the recyling department or has it been destroyed? If so who made the decision to recycle the tape? It seems amazing that a tape of this nature would not be preserved for future investigation i.e. an inquiry into the possible death of Mr Valentich by the courts." Trans Media asked for a "...copy of the unedited transcript of this tape..."
5. Four pages of the "Preliminary transcript from Melbourne Flight Service Recording."
6. BASI document. Two pages. Completely blank. The schedule of documents under the ATSB response states that this folio is "Tape order book records." The "Exemption category" states "R with out of scope. Information deleted. Tape order book records relating to other aircraft."
7. 17 Jul 1985. BASI document. Two pages. Described as "Internal minute." Completely exempt.
8. 16 Jul 1985. BASI document. "Note containing NOK personal information." This folio is a one page "Bureau of Air Safety Investigation Minute." Handwritten "Note. Mr Guido Valentich." The rest of the folio is blank.
9. 8 Aug 1985. Department of Aviation letter to Trans Media Productions. "...has decided to grant access to the summary report relating to the accident involving Mr Valentich. This report contains a complete transcript of Mr Valentich's conversation with Melbourne Flight Service."
10. 26 Jul 1985. Letter Department of Aviation to Trans Media Productions. "Regarding your question on the recycling of audio tapes. I confirm the advice of (deleted) on 9 July that it is departmental practice to "recycle" tapes after use. This means that unless tapes are required for investigation purposes they are retained for 30 days and then reused, as needed, to record further operational conversations... Our records indicate that the tape concerning Mr Valentich was returned to service on 6 April 1979, following its release from BASI."
11. A one page BASI note. Handwritten. It appears to show two file numbers V116/783/1047 and M116/783/1047. It is a table with columns headed "Folio," "Release (Yes/No)," "Reason (If no)," "Agrees."
There is a handwritten note "Accident report only see F6 on U86/46." Under "folios" there are 63 folios shown. Some have "yes" written under "release" and others have "no."
12. 24 Oct 1988. BASI. "Investigators file note." One page. Totally exempt. Not included in my package.
13. 27 Sep 1989. Fax from Southdown press to Bureau of Air Safety investigation. Asks BASI "I wish to request a public release document containing details of the flight,. subsequent investigations and the conclusion reached..." Apparently for an article for the "Australasian Post" magazine.
14. 27 Sep 1989. Fax from BASI to Southdown press. Response to 13. Here is what you asked for.
15. 9 Apr 1990. BASI to "An external party." "Letter regarding request for a copy of the Accident report concerning VH-DSJ."
16. 4 Apr 1990. "Ineligible document as received." Totally blank.
17. 9 Apr 1990. BASI. "Internal minute regarding attachment of document to file."
18. 15 Mar 1991. Letter from Mary MacKillop Catholic Regional College, South Gippsland to BASI. For a communications project could we please have information on Valentich's disappearance?
19. 26 Mar 1991. BASI to Mary Mackillop Catholic Regional College. Includes "The file on this occurrence was archived some time ago but I have requested its issue from Australian archives to obtain for you a copy of the report made available for public release following investigation of the occurrence...Interest in the disappearance has continued primarily due to the UFO connotations which were not substantiated and yours is one of several requests we receive each year for information on this occurrence. Even iI would like to know what really happened but it is one of those mysteries which probably will never be solved."
20. 27 Mar 1991. BASI to Mary MacKillop College. Provides a copy of the "Aircraft Accident Investigation Summary report."
21 27 Mar 2012. "An external party" to BASI. The year date of 2012 shown in the ATSB documents is incorrect as it is labelled as folio 144. This folio is between folio 143 which is dated 27 Mar 1991 and folio 145 dated 27 Jul 1992. The "schedule of documents" supplied by ATSB shows this folio is six pages long. Four pages are totally exempt. One opage is partially deleted and one page was released. Of the two pages I received, one is an envelope dated 13 Jul 1992 addressed to "The Director, Bureau of Air Safety Regulation" and the other page is the back of the envelope with the address deleted. The contents of the four page letter enclosed, were not released to me.
22. 27 Jul 1992. A one page internal BASI minute. "Here is an unusual one for you. It is the famous Valentich case of October 1978. Folio 144 is an attempt at an explanation which is offered in good faith. I spoke to the author and acknowledged receipt. I don't have the expertise or time to look at it. This sort of thing is in the psych's area. Would you give it to them for consideration and response (verbal would be OK) to the author."
23. 25 Aug 1992. BASI to an external part. "I refer to your letter of 10 Jul 1992...As you understand, the event remains a mystery, however your suggestions concerning a possible cause are appreciated..."
Comments:
So, this is the rest of the ATSB's file, as released by the current owner, the ATSB. This then, is the final chapter of files series B1497 control symbol V116/783/1047.
What do blog readers think of this final piece of the file?
I previously reported on the release, by the National Archives of Australia (NAA) of the major part of file series B1497 control symbol V116/783/1047, titled "DSJ - Cape Ottway to King Island 21 October 1978 - Aircraft missing." This was the Australian Government's Air Accident Investigation file on the disappearance of aircraft VH-DSJ, piloted by Frederick Valentich.
The file released by the NAA, under the Archives Act allowed access to documents on the file, which were more than 30 years old. As I requested this file in 2012, this meant papers up to 1983 were released to me. This left an unknown number of folios (a folio can mean one or more papers) on the file up until the file was closed and placed in the NAA.
I therefore submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to the file's current owner, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB), requesting the rest of the folios on the file. I had little hope of finding anything of real value, given that the final report on the disappearance of the aircraft and pilot appeared on papers released under the Archives Act. However, I thought that I would be thorough, and obtain the rest of the file's documents. If no-one obtained the papers, there would always be some conspiracy theory that there was something hidden on the rest of the file.
I have just received these documents. What was on the file beyond 1983?
Authority to make this decision:
The decision maker in response to my FOI Act request, was Ian Sangston, General Manager, Aviation Safety Investigations, Australian Transport Safety Bureau.
I was advised that there are 23 folios on file V116/783/1047 relevant to my request. These documents fall into one of three categories:
1. Documents released in full - 3
2. Documents released with some deletions - 17
3. Documents totally exempt form release - 2.
That totals 22 folios. One folio is several pages long; four pages of it are exempt; one page released with some deletions and one page fully released. This totals the 23 folios.
What are the folios?
1. 26 Jun 1985. From Bureau of Air Safety Investigation (BASI) to Trans Media Productions Pty Ltd. "I refer to your Freedom of Information request...for a copy of an unedited tape recording of the conversation between Mr F Valentich and Melbourne Flight Service on 21 October 1978. it is Departmental practice to recycle tapes and the particular tape to which you refer has, after investigation of Mr Valentich's disappearance, been returned to service. As no other tape recording of the conversation is held by the Department, the Department is unable to comply with your request."
2. 25 Jun 1985. From Trans Media productions -Channel 9 TV, to the Department. (Keith's note - this document is almost unreadable due to being very faint, but would appear to be the request alluded to in 1 above.
3. 26 Jun 1985. Internal memo from Regional Director, Victoria, to Director, BASI. I propose to reply to Trans media productions as per the draft here.
4. 11 Jul 1985. Letter from Trans Media Productions to BASI. "Is the tape in the archives of the recyling department or has it been destroyed? If so who made the decision to recycle the tape? It seems amazing that a tape of this nature would not be preserved for future investigation i.e. an inquiry into the possible death of Mr Valentich by the courts." Trans Media asked for a "...copy of the unedited transcript of this tape..."
5. Four pages of the "Preliminary transcript from Melbourne Flight Service Recording."
6. BASI document. Two pages. Completely blank. The schedule of documents under the ATSB response states that this folio is "Tape order book records." The "Exemption category" states "R with out of scope. Information deleted. Tape order book records relating to other aircraft."
7. 17 Jul 1985. BASI document. Two pages. Described as "Internal minute." Completely exempt.
8. 16 Jul 1985. BASI document. "Note containing NOK personal information." This folio is a one page "Bureau of Air Safety Investigation Minute." Handwritten "Note. Mr Guido Valentich." The rest of the folio is blank.
9. 8 Aug 1985. Department of Aviation letter to Trans Media Productions. "...has decided to grant access to the summary report relating to the accident involving Mr Valentich. This report contains a complete transcript of Mr Valentich's conversation with Melbourne Flight Service."
10. 26 Jul 1985. Letter Department of Aviation to Trans Media Productions. "Regarding your question on the recycling of audio tapes. I confirm the advice of (deleted) on 9 July that it is departmental practice to "recycle" tapes after use. This means that unless tapes are required for investigation purposes they are retained for 30 days and then reused, as needed, to record further operational conversations... Our records indicate that the tape concerning Mr Valentich was returned to service on 6 April 1979, following its release from BASI."
11. A one page BASI note. Handwritten. It appears to show two file numbers V116/783/1047 and M116/783/1047. It is a table with columns headed "Folio," "Release (Yes/No)," "Reason (If no)," "Agrees."
There is a handwritten note "Accident report only see F6 on U86/46." Under "folios" there are 63 folios shown. Some have "yes" written under "release" and others have "no."
12. 24 Oct 1988. BASI. "Investigators file note." One page. Totally exempt. Not included in my package.
13. 27 Sep 1989. Fax from Southdown press to Bureau of Air Safety investigation. Asks BASI "I wish to request a public release document containing details of the flight,. subsequent investigations and the conclusion reached..." Apparently for an article for the "Australasian Post" magazine.
14. 27 Sep 1989. Fax from BASI to Southdown press. Response to 13. Here is what you asked for.
15. 9 Apr 1990. BASI to "An external party." "Letter regarding request for a copy of the Accident report concerning VH-DSJ."
16. 4 Apr 1990. "Ineligible document as received." Totally blank.
17. 9 Apr 1990. BASI. "Internal minute regarding attachment of document to file."
18. 15 Mar 1991. Letter from Mary MacKillop Catholic Regional College, South Gippsland to BASI. For a communications project could we please have information on Valentich's disappearance?
19. 26 Mar 1991. BASI to Mary Mackillop Catholic Regional College. Includes "The file on this occurrence was archived some time ago but I have requested its issue from Australian archives to obtain for you a copy of the report made available for public release following investigation of the occurrence...Interest in the disappearance has continued primarily due to the UFO connotations which were not substantiated and yours is one of several requests we receive each year for information on this occurrence. Even iI would like to know what really happened but it is one of those mysteries which probably will never be solved."
20. 27 Mar 1991. BASI to Mary MacKillop College. Provides a copy of the "Aircraft Accident Investigation Summary report."
21 27 Mar 2012. "An external party" to BASI. The year date of 2012 shown in the ATSB documents is incorrect as it is labelled as folio 144. This folio is between folio 143 which is dated 27 Mar 1991 and folio 145 dated 27 Jul 1992. The "schedule of documents" supplied by ATSB shows this folio is six pages long. Four pages are totally exempt. One opage is partially deleted and one page was released. Of the two pages I received, one is an envelope dated 13 Jul 1992 addressed to "The Director, Bureau of Air Safety Regulation" and the other page is the back of the envelope with the address deleted. The contents of the four page letter enclosed, were not released to me.
22. 27 Jul 1992. A one page internal BASI minute. "Here is an unusual one for you. It is the famous Valentich case of October 1978. Folio 144 is an attempt at an explanation which is offered in good faith. I spoke to the author and acknowledged receipt. I don't have the expertise or time to look at it. This sort of thing is in the psych's area. Would you give it to them for consideration and response (verbal would be OK) to the author."
23. 25 Aug 1992. BASI to an external part. "I refer to your letter of 10 Jul 1992...As you understand, the event remains a mystery, however your suggestions concerning a possible cause are appreciated..."
Comments:
So, this is the rest of the ATSB's file, as released by the current owner, the ATSB. This then, is the final chapter of files series B1497 control symbol V116/783/1047.
What do blog readers think of this final piece of the file?
Sunday, August 19, 2012
"Communion" - Whitley Strieber's original book
Dear readers,
My last post took a look at US author Whitley Strieber's new book, 'Solving the Communion Enigma: What is to come." As I was very young when the book "Communion" came out, I thought I had better read it. I located a copy in a second hand book store, and have just read it in one session. As I would think that a number of younger blog readers will be in the same position as me; that is will not have heard of the book, let alone read it, I thought I would provide some context, for you, to his latest work.
My copy of "Communion" is dated 1988 and titled "Communion: A True Story: Encounters with the Unknown," published by Arrow Books, London. ISBN 0-09-053420-7. At this stage of his career, Strieber had already written and published a number of novels, namely "Wolf of Shadows;" "Catmagic;" "The Nightchurch;" "Black Magic;" "The Hunger" and "The Wolfen."
The pivotal event:
Anne and Whitley Strieber owned a cabin in upstate New York in the USA. It was a quiet and hidden location. On 26 Dec 1985 both were in bed by 10pm and asleep by 11pm. "I do not know the exact time - I abruptly found myself awake. I heard a peculiar whooshing, swirling noise coming from the living room downstairs...I noticed that one of the double doors leading into our bedroom was moving closed...Then I saw edging around it a compact figure...A few moments later, when it was close to the bed, I saw two dark holes for eyes and a black down-turning line of a mouth that later became an O...The next think I knew, the figure came rushing into the room. I recall only blackness after that, for an unknown period of time...My next conscious recollection is of being in motion. I was naked...The next thing I knew I was sitting in a small sort of depression in the woods...there was a small individual...on my right was another figure...The next thing I knew I was sitting in a messy round room...an extremely shiny, hair-thin needle ...they proposed to insert this into my brain...they had performed the proposed operation on my head...I had seen four different types of figures...I was being shown an enormous and extremely ugly object...They inserted this thing into my rectum...One of them took my right hand and made an incision on my forefinger...Abruptly my memories end. There isn't even blackness, just morning." (pp19-30.)
After this event, Strieber describes a change in personality which came over him. "I became mercurial, frantic with excitement about some idea one moment, in despair the next." (p.35.)
Science and the UFOs:
Strieber's brother had given him a book "Science and the UFOs" by Jenny Randles and Peter Warrington, which he then read. He came across reports of alien abductions. "They were talking about people who think they're taken aboard spaceships by aliens. And I seemed to be such a person." (p.40.)
Strieber contacted New York abduction researcher Budd Hopkins, met him and later underwent regression hypnosis, and retrieved further detailed memories of the events of 26 Dec 1985.
Second pivotal event:
Talking to Hopkins brought back another experience to Strieber. In this one, the Striebers were at their cabin, with Jacques Sandulescu and Annie Gottlieb. During the night he "...Startled awake and saw, to my horror, that there was a distinct blue light being cast on the living room ceiling...I watched this blue light slowly creep up the ceiling...I fell back to sleep...I was again wakened this time by a loud report...I was stunned to see that the entire house was surrounded by a glow that extended into the fog...the glow suddenly disappeared...The next morning little was said about the incident." (p.45.) Later Strieber questioned his wife; Sandulescu and Gottlieb about the event, and underwent regression hypnosis where more detailed memories of the event were recovered.
A lifetime of events:
In section four of the book, Strieber described a number of memories of unusual events which occurred to him between 1957 and 1984. They varied in content and details.
Thoughts:
Following the examination of his memories, what were Strieber's thoughts on what he was experiencing? "I began this search by assuming that I was dealing either with a mental aberration or a visit "from another planet." If I had been asked I would have said that the nature of my experience indicated that the visitors hadn't been here too long and that I had been studied by a team of biologists and anthropologists." (p.223.) However, he speculated on six possibilities, which ranged from "from within us" to "a side effect of a natural phenomenon." (p.224.)
Strieber conducted a lot of research into aspects of UFOs, psychology and psychiatry looking for explanations for his experiences. Strieber had also studied and practiced meditation for many years, and also studied a number of esoteric subjects. "My historical survey has found that the core experience of seeing flying disks and small figures goes back a long, long time" (p.225.) "The central question remains. Is there anything real about all this?" (p.226.)
In trying to make sense of all the possibilities, Strieber does narrow down to some concrete thoughts, such as:
"It is also obvious from their secrecy that they want very much to hide." (p.235.)
"...their activities go far beyond a mere study of mankind. They are involved with us on very deep levels. Playing in the band of dream, weaving imagination and reality together until they begin to seem what they probably are - different aspects of a single continuum." (p.243.)
"Those who have seen the devices or their occupants are often convinced that they are extraterrestrial in origin." (p.289.)
"Looking back over my experience with the visitors, I cannot say that I felt inferior to them. On the contrary, the people I encountered did not seem superior as much as wiser, but also more simple and unformed as individuals. And they not only feared me, they seemed in awe of me." (p.290.)
"I would not be at all surprised if the visitors are real and are slowing coming into contact with us according to an agenda of their own devises, which proceeds as human understanding increases." (p.294.)
Comments:
You can clearly see, in this 1988 work, the seeds of the ideas which Strieber expresses in his last work.
My last post took a look at US author Whitley Strieber's new book, 'Solving the Communion Enigma: What is to come." As I was very young when the book "Communion" came out, I thought I had better read it. I located a copy in a second hand book store, and have just read it in one session. As I would think that a number of younger blog readers will be in the same position as me; that is will not have heard of the book, let alone read it, I thought I would provide some context, for you, to his latest work.
My copy of "Communion" is dated 1988 and titled "Communion: A True Story: Encounters with the Unknown," published by Arrow Books, London. ISBN 0-09-053420-7. At this stage of his career, Strieber had already written and published a number of novels, namely "Wolf of Shadows;" "Catmagic;" "The Nightchurch;" "Black Magic;" "The Hunger" and "The Wolfen."
The pivotal event:
Anne and Whitley Strieber owned a cabin in upstate New York in the USA. It was a quiet and hidden location. On 26 Dec 1985 both were in bed by 10pm and asleep by 11pm. "I do not know the exact time - I abruptly found myself awake. I heard a peculiar whooshing, swirling noise coming from the living room downstairs...I noticed that one of the double doors leading into our bedroom was moving closed...Then I saw edging around it a compact figure...A few moments later, when it was close to the bed, I saw two dark holes for eyes and a black down-turning line of a mouth that later became an O...The next think I knew, the figure came rushing into the room. I recall only blackness after that, for an unknown period of time...My next conscious recollection is of being in motion. I was naked...The next thing I knew I was sitting in a small sort of depression in the woods...there was a small individual...on my right was another figure...The next thing I knew I was sitting in a messy round room...an extremely shiny, hair-thin needle ...they proposed to insert this into my brain...they had performed the proposed operation on my head...I had seen four different types of figures...I was being shown an enormous and extremely ugly object...They inserted this thing into my rectum...One of them took my right hand and made an incision on my forefinger...Abruptly my memories end. There isn't even blackness, just morning." (pp19-30.)
After this event, Strieber describes a change in personality which came over him. "I became mercurial, frantic with excitement about some idea one moment, in despair the next." (p.35.)
Science and the UFOs:
Strieber's brother had given him a book "Science and the UFOs" by Jenny Randles and Peter Warrington, which he then read. He came across reports of alien abductions. "They were talking about people who think they're taken aboard spaceships by aliens. And I seemed to be such a person." (p.40.)
Strieber contacted New York abduction researcher Budd Hopkins, met him and later underwent regression hypnosis, and retrieved further detailed memories of the events of 26 Dec 1985.
Second pivotal event:
Talking to Hopkins brought back another experience to Strieber. In this one, the Striebers were at their cabin, with Jacques Sandulescu and Annie Gottlieb. During the night he "...Startled awake and saw, to my horror, that there was a distinct blue light being cast on the living room ceiling...I watched this blue light slowly creep up the ceiling...I fell back to sleep...I was again wakened this time by a loud report...I was stunned to see that the entire house was surrounded by a glow that extended into the fog...the glow suddenly disappeared...The next morning little was said about the incident." (p.45.) Later Strieber questioned his wife; Sandulescu and Gottlieb about the event, and underwent regression hypnosis where more detailed memories of the event were recovered.
A lifetime of events:
In section four of the book, Strieber described a number of memories of unusual events which occurred to him between 1957 and 1984. They varied in content and details.
Thoughts:
Following the examination of his memories, what were Strieber's thoughts on what he was experiencing? "I began this search by assuming that I was dealing either with a mental aberration or a visit "from another planet." If I had been asked I would have said that the nature of my experience indicated that the visitors hadn't been here too long and that I had been studied by a team of biologists and anthropologists." (p.223.) However, he speculated on six possibilities, which ranged from "from within us" to "a side effect of a natural phenomenon." (p.224.)
Strieber conducted a lot of research into aspects of UFOs, psychology and psychiatry looking for explanations for his experiences. Strieber had also studied and practiced meditation for many years, and also studied a number of esoteric subjects. "My historical survey has found that the core experience of seeing flying disks and small figures goes back a long, long time" (p.225.) "The central question remains. Is there anything real about all this?" (p.226.)
In trying to make sense of all the possibilities, Strieber does narrow down to some concrete thoughts, such as:
"It is also obvious from their secrecy that they want very much to hide." (p.235.)
"...their activities go far beyond a mere study of mankind. They are involved with us on very deep levels. Playing in the band of dream, weaving imagination and reality together until they begin to seem what they probably are - different aspects of a single continuum." (p.243.)
"Those who have seen the devices or their occupants are often convinced that they are extraterrestrial in origin." (p.289.)
"Looking back over my experience with the visitors, I cannot say that I felt inferior to them. On the contrary, the people I encountered did not seem superior as much as wiser, but also more simple and unformed as individuals. And they not only feared me, they seemed in awe of me." (p.290.)
"I would not be at all surprised if the visitors are real and are slowing coming into contact with us according to an agenda of their own devises, which proceeds as human understanding increases." (p.294.)
Comments:
You can clearly see, in this 1988 work, the seeds of the ideas which Strieber expresses in his last work.
Thursday, August 16, 2012
RAAF Darwin UAP National Archive files digitised
Hi all,
I am aware of three RAAF Darwin UAP files. However, owing to their titles, it is not easy to locate them in the National Archives of Australia. They are:
1. File series E1327 control symbol 5/4/Air Part 1.
2. E1327 5/4/Air part 6.
3. E1327 5/4/Air Part 6/7.
I have now had all three files digitised, and have previously posted details of one of the files, i.e. E1327 5/4/Air Part 6 (click here.) This post reports on the other two files.
E1327 5/4/Air Part 6/7:
The date range of the file is Nov 1979 to Jun 1990, but the Archives Act allows access only to 71 pages, up to 1983. The title is "Unusual sightings and incidents." There is, for example, a 21 page copy of the DOD (Air Office) summary number 5 of Unusual Aerial Sightings for 1975. There is also a copy of a letter from RAAF Darwin to the Editor of the Northern Territory News, releasing information on a number of reports at 8pm on 15 Oct 1974, of a group of reddish "tailed" lights.
One interesting letter, dated 16 Oct 1981, from the DOD (Air Office) Canberra, to all RAAF bases refers to "...the recent re-entry of a meteorite near Marble Bar at the same time as Cosmos 434 was due to re-enter causing considerable confusion. The statement by the Perth Observatory that it was nuclear powered, created great, and unwanted, media attention." The letter goes on too advise "Investigating Officers are, however, requested to refrain from putting a possible name to any suspected space debris re-entry."
Close encounter:
One report came from 34 year old Richard Bett, of Humpty Doo, NT. On a Saturday, which was either 5 or 12 Nov 1983 he was at lot 45, Power Road, McMinns Lagoon, Humpty Doo, NT. At about 1430hrs, on a slightly overcast but mainly sunny day, he saw, at 80 degrees elevation, an object heading north. It appeared to be only some 30-40 feet above him. The witness' hand written report states in part:
" It was a single object, no lights (daytime) dull...moved away very fast over the house. (I guess 160kph.) approx size would be 4-6 feet long, and slim, possibly winged. It made a fluttering whosh noise like a very silent jet. Could feel faint shock wave. Dogs dived under chair in fright. It awoke my wife who was dozing in chair on verandah. She just caught a glance as it disappeared over rooftops 200m away. It just cleared tree tops which are approx 30-40 feet high."
The investigating officer for the RAAF wrote "May have been a Mirage, although the Saturday does not fit that well. No further investigation proposed at this stage."
E1327 5/4/Air Part 1:
This is a 169 page file titled "Unusual Sightings-Incidents." The date range is Sep 1960 to Feb 1968, and stamped "Secret."
The file contains a number of low-value reports. However, a few cases are worthy of note.
8 Mar 1961:
Charles Neville Bell, a pilot with Muir Aviation, reported seeing an unusual object at 0330z during a flight from Maningrida to Darwin. Shortly after take off he noted a distinctive cloud formation. As he approached the cloud he noted that "...each end of the formation ended abruptly." Also, whatever had made the trail had made a 180 degree right hand turn. He watched it for 40 minutes. The "trail" was in a clear blue sky at 35-40,000 feet. No aircraft was observed at all, just the cloud.
22 Nov 1966
H Munstermann was a meteorological observer at Dal;y Waters, NT. "At 0943 whilst doing my Balloon Flight I suddenly picked up an U.F.O. My balloon at 26,000 feet was close to the Sun and impossible to follow any further. This object appeared when I left the balloon, azimuth 280 deg, elevation 59.2 deg. I followed the object for about 2 (two) minutes then lost it. I immediately took another reading, azimuth 320 deg elevation 27.9 deg. It seemed to be travelling at tremendous speed...I was informed there was no aircraft in the area..."
He described it as a metallic grey in colour, oblong in shape, with no structural detail visible. It travelled in a straight line from north to south. It was lost in mid-air due to its speed. The RAAF investigating officer in an "original" thought wrote "Met balloon???"
Royal Australian Navy:
One document on the file struck me as odd. It is dated 13 Dec 1967 and from the Naval Staff Office, Darwin and addressed to:
Squadron Leader, L F E Fosdike, RAAF Darwin.
Major F J Spry, NT Command, Darwin.
Mr L Gordon, ASIO Darwin.
Seargent J B Tiernan, Special Branch, NT Police, Darwin.
The memo is headed "Report on sightings of Unidentified Flying Objects" and had attached, a statement of a Mr J Lord of Munmalary Station, South Alligator River, NT about a bright, pulsating white light seen on a number of occasions. However, this isn't the interesting part.
The Navy memo continued "List of Incidents, Sightings of Unidentified craft and Aircraft, Flying Objects and/or phenomena held at this office has not been amended to include reports received after 31st January 1966. In order to bring these records up to date, it would be appreciated if details of any reports with these categories could be furnished so that complete records are available on our files for reference purposes." The memo was signed A F Parry, Lieutenant Commander RANVR Staff Officer (Intelligence.) The memo had a reference of 300/9E/23. No reply from the addresses is on this file.
What was the Navy doing collecting such reports?
I checked my files and found that another file, series E499/18 control symbol C21/4/41 titled "Unidentified Flying Object Sightings" was a 41 page file held by Defence Establishment Berrimah (Formerly HMAS Coonawarra). This file dates between 1959 and 1974. It contains the same RAN memo of 13 Dec 1967as that mentioned above. However, it also contains a reply dated 14 Mar 1968 from RAAF Darwin to RAN Darwin and lists 7 UAP reports dated between 27 Sep 1966 and 28 Jan 1968. There is also a copy of the Lord, Munmalary Station report on this file.
So, the RAN, at least in Darwin, maintained a UAP file at least between 1959 and 1974, a 15 year period. Why?
A search of Disclosure Australia archives located only four Navy UAP files. These are;
1. MP926/1 control symbol 3079/101 "Unidentified Objects"(Flying Saucer sighted by Navy pilot.)
2. SP 338/3 control symbol 13/4/10 "Unidentified Objects." Same sighting as 1.
3. E449/18 control symbol C21/4/41 "Unidentified Flying Object sightings."
4. A6826 control symbol 1361/1/3 titled "Earth satellites, space vehicles, Unidentified Flying Objects -general" was 3p long and mentions only one low value UAP report.
If any reader knows why the Australian Navy was collecting such reports, I would be interested in hearing from them.
To read any of these files go to http://www.naa.gov.au, click on advanced search and type in the file series details, and the control symbol details. happy reading.
I am aware of three RAAF Darwin UAP files. However, owing to their titles, it is not easy to locate them in the National Archives of Australia. They are:
1. File series E1327 control symbol 5/4/Air Part 1.
2. E1327 5/4/Air part 6.
3. E1327 5/4/Air Part 6/7.
I have now had all three files digitised, and have previously posted details of one of the files, i.e. E1327 5/4/Air Part 6 (click here.) This post reports on the other two files.
E1327 5/4/Air Part 6/7:
The date range of the file is Nov 1979 to Jun 1990, but the Archives Act allows access only to 71 pages, up to 1983. The title is "Unusual sightings and incidents." There is, for example, a 21 page copy of the DOD (Air Office) summary number 5 of Unusual Aerial Sightings for 1975. There is also a copy of a letter from RAAF Darwin to the Editor of the Northern Territory News, releasing information on a number of reports at 8pm on 15 Oct 1974, of a group of reddish "tailed" lights.
One interesting letter, dated 16 Oct 1981, from the DOD (Air Office) Canberra, to all RAAF bases refers to "...the recent re-entry of a meteorite near Marble Bar at the same time as Cosmos 434 was due to re-enter causing considerable confusion. The statement by the Perth Observatory that it was nuclear powered, created great, and unwanted, media attention." The letter goes on too advise "Investigating Officers are, however, requested to refrain from putting a possible name to any suspected space debris re-entry."
Close encounter:
One report came from 34 year old Richard Bett, of Humpty Doo, NT. On a Saturday, which was either 5 or 12 Nov 1983 he was at lot 45, Power Road, McMinns Lagoon, Humpty Doo, NT. At about 1430hrs, on a slightly overcast but mainly sunny day, he saw, at 80 degrees elevation, an object heading north. It appeared to be only some 30-40 feet above him. The witness' hand written report states in part:
" It was a single object, no lights (daytime) dull...moved away very fast over the house. (I guess 160kph.) approx size would be 4-6 feet long, and slim, possibly winged. It made a fluttering whosh noise like a very silent jet. Could feel faint shock wave. Dogs dived under chair in fright. It awoke my wife who was dozing in chair on verandah. She just caught a glance as it disappeared over rooftops 200m away. It just cleared tree tops which are approx 30-40 feet high."
The investigating officer for the RAAF wrote "May have been a Mirage, although the Saturday does not fit that well. No further investigation proposed at this stage."
E1327 5/4/Air Part 1:
This is a 169 page file titled "Unusual Sightings-Incidents." The date range is Sep 1960 to Feb 1968, and stamped "Secret."
The file contains a number of low-value reports. However, a few cases are worthy of note.
8 Mar 1961:
Charles Neville Bell, a pilot with Muir Aviation, reported seeing an unusual object at 0330z during a flight from Maningrida to Darwin. Shortly after take off he noted a distinctive cloud formation. As he approached the cloud he noted that "...each end of the formation ended abruptly." Also, whatever had made the trail had made a 180 degree right hand turn. He watched it for 40 minutes. The "trail" was in a clear blue sky at 35-40,000 feet. No aircraft was observed at all, just the cloud.
22 Nov 1966
H Munstermann was a meteorological observer at Dal;y Waters, NT. "At 0943 whilst doing my Balloon Flight I suddenly picked up an U.F.O. My balloon at 26,000 feet was close to the Sun and impossible to follow any further. This object appeared when I left the balloon, azimuth 280 deg, elevation 59.2 deg. I followed the object for about 2 (two) minutes then lost it. I immediately took another reading, azimuth 320 deg elevation 27.9 deg. It seemed to be travelling at tremendous speed...I was informed there was no aircraft in the area..."
He described it as a metallic grey in colour, oblong in shape, with no structural detail visible. It travelled in a straight line from north to south. It was lost in mid-air due to its speed. The RAAF investigating officer in an "original" thought wrote "Met balloon???"
Royal Australian Navy:
One document on the file struck me as odd. It is dated 13 Dec 1967 and from the Naval Staff Office, Darwin and addressed to:
Squadron Leader, L F E Fosdike, RAAF Darwin.
Major F J Spry, NT Command, Darwin.
Mr L Gordon, ASIO Darwin.
Seargent J B Tiernan, Special Branch, NT Police, Darwin.
The memo is headed "Report on sightings of Unidentified Flying Objects" and had attached, a statement of a Mr J Lord of Munmalary Station, South Alligator River, NT about a bright, pulsating white light seen on a number of occasions. However, this isn't the interesting part.
The Navy memo continued "List of Incidents, Sightings of Unidentified craft and Aircraft, Flying Objects and/or phenomena held at this office has not been amended to include reports received after 31st January 1966. In order to bring these records up to date, it would be appreciated if details of any reports with these categories could be furnished so that complete records are available on our files for reference purposes." The memo was signed A F Parry, Lieutenant Commander RANVR Staff Officer (Intelligence.) The memo had a reference of 300/9E/23. No reply from the addresses is on this file.
What was the Navy doing collecting such reports?
I checked my files and found that another file, series E499/18 control symbol C21/4/41 titled "Unidentified Flying Object Sightings" was a 41 page file held by Defence Establishment Berrimah (Formerly HMAS Coonawarra). This file dates between 1959 and 1974. It contains the same RAN memo of 13 Dec 1967as that mentioned above. However, it also contains a reply dated 14 Mar 1968 from RAAF Darwin to RAN Darwin and lists 7 UAP reports dated between 27 Sep 1966 and 28 Jan 1968. There is also a copy of the Lord, Munmalary Station report on this file.
So, the RAN, at least in Darwin, maintained a UAP file at least between 1959 and 1974, a 15 year period. Why?
A search of Disclosure Australia archives located only four Navy UAP files. These are;
1. MP926/1 control symbol 3079/101 "Unidentified Objects"(Flying Saucer sighted by Navy pilot.)
2. SP 338/3 control symbol 13/4/10 "Unidentified Objects." Same sighting as 1.
3. E449/18 control symbol C21/4/41 "Unidentified Flying Object sightings."
4. A6826 control symbol 1361/1/3 titled "Earth satellites, space vehicles, Unidentified Flying Objects -general" was 3p long and mentions only one low value UAP report.
If any reader knows why the Australian Navy was collecting such reports, I would be interested in hearing from them.
To read any of these files go to http://www.naa.gov.au, click on advanced search and type in the file series details, and the control symbol details. happy reading.
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
UK intelligence agencies and their interest in UFO researchers
Dear readers,
Long time readers of this blog will know of my interest in the involvement of various government's intelligence agencies in the UFO phenomenon. This blog contains a number of posts on this subject (e.g. click here and here.)
I recently came across a book, which I missed reading when it first came out, but which has quite a few accounts of intelligence operatives and UK UFO researchers. I'll summarise some of it, in case you have never read the book yourself.
Saucer spies:
The book in question is titled "On the Trail of the Saucer Spies: UFOs and Government Surveillance." The author is Nick Redfern, and the book was published in 2006 by Anomalist Books, San Antonio. ISBN is 1933 66 5106.
APEN:
The first thread tells the story of a UK group calling itself the "Aerial Phenomena Enquiry network" (APEN). APEN (click here) contacted a range of UK UFO researchers and groups in the period 1974-1992.
Redfern writes "When APEN surfaced the intense, official surveillance of practically the entire British UFO research community began in earnest." (p.136.) Redfern source his knowledge, in part, to a character he refers to as "the Sandman." This individual claimed to have been involved in an "...operation...designed to carefully monitor a number of low-profile individuals in the north of England, Nottingham, Cambridge, Birmingham, London, Leicester and elsewhere, who were all tied...with underground and extremely ultra-right wing fascist organisations in Britain." (p.136.)
Sandman claimed the operation involved Special Branch, Scotland Yard and MI5. The Sandman went on to say that "...six of the people being carefully watched 'for extremist actions" had a personal interest in the UFO controversy." (p.137.) The thinking of the government agencies was that perhaps the UFO interest was just a cover for something else. The Sandman told Redfern this group of individuals created APEN to attempt to destabilise UK UFO groups, and recruit people for right-wing groups. The Sandman admitted to Redfern that to counter APEN's methods "We decided at Special branch and GCHQ that there was one way we could stop this: we began creating our own APEN letters and began sending them out." (p.142.) Redfern says that confirmation of Sandman's information came from another source via Andy Roberts. (p.142.)
Matthew Bevan:
Redfern interviewed "...a self confirmed computer hacker who lives in Wales..." (p.183) Bevan got into the subject of UFOs when "One guy in Australia - had on his bulletin board all these text files about UFOs. This was about 1994." (p.185.) He later hacked into computer files at Wright Patterson USAF base, looking for UFO information. Bevan's hacking activity came under the notice of Scotland Yard and the US "Defense Information Systems Agency" and the USAF Office of Special Investigations. Bevan was arrested and charged. later, be believed he was still under surveillance. (Click here for more on Bevan.)
Mathew Williams:
Williams was a South Wales UFO researcher, who in the mid to late 1990's was "...delving into claims that a crashed UFO and alien bodies were held deep below ground at a sensitive Royal Air Force installation in the south-west of England called RAF Rudloe Manor." (p.194.) Redfern asserts that Williams was under government surveillance, and that (citing the Sandman) "...questions would be asked at an official level about Williams' intentions - including even whether or not he was utilising his UFO research as a cover for working with none other than the Irish Republican Army. " (p.220.) Click here for other views on Williams.
"The British Roswell:"
Following a lead to a reported UFO 'crash' in the UK in early 1964, Redfern interviewed one Harold South. South told a story of seeing what appeared to be an Army, Police and RAAF operation to remove "...a large object had been lifted on to the trailer and had been a partially covered by a tarpaulin." (p.224.)
This object seemed to be a triangular shape, and South said that he was later interviewed by a police inspector, and his camera and photographs he had taken of the scene were taken by police. South told Redfern that Ministry of Defence Police had called him shortly before the interview with Redfern. Redfern wrote "There seemed only one conclusion: somebody in the intelligence or defence community wanted to let us know that by probing into the complexity of the Pentridge crash, we had opened up a sensitive can of worms." (p.228.)
GCHQ:
The UK's Government Communications Headquarters, was the target of research by UK researcher Robin Cole. Redfern reports "...that GCHQ has a large and impressive library that contains a considerable number of books on UFOs; that GCHQ was implicated in the study of military originated UFO encounters as far back as the early 1950's; and that GCHQ was involved in the investigation of an intriguing UFO incident that occurred off the East coast of England in October 1996..." (p.232.)
On 1992 Cole wrote a booklet titled "GCHQ and the UFO Cover-up." Someone from GCHQ rang Cole up to ask for his source. Later, he was interviewed by a Detective Sargent from Special branch, and apparently surveilled by the Ministry of Defence. For more on Cole click here.
Summary:
If you have never caught up with this book of Redfern's it is worth getting hold of a copy and studying it.
I'd be interest to hear from any blog readers who were caught up in the APEN saga and for your views on the accounts given in Redfern's book.
Long time readers of this blog will know of my interest in the involvement of various government's intelligence agencies in the UFO phenomenon. This blog contains a number of posts on this subject (e.g. click here and here.)
I recently came across a book, which I missed reading when it first came out, but which has quite a few accounts of intelligence operatives and UK UFO researchers. I'll summarise some of it, in case you have never read the book yourself.
Saucer spies:
The book in question is titled "On the Trail of the Saucer Spies: UFOs and Government Surveillance." The author is Nick Redfern, and the book was published in 2006 by Anomalist Books, San Antonio. ISBN is 1933 66 5106.
APEN:
The first thread tells the story of a UK group calling itself the "Aerial Phenomena Enquiry network" (APEN). APEN (click here) contacted a range of UK UFO researchers and groups in the period 1974-1992.
Redfern writes "When APEN surfaced the intense, official surveillance of practically the entire British UFO research community began in earnest." (p.136.) Redfern source his knowledge, in part, to a character he refers to as "the Sandman." This individual claimed to have been involved in an "...operation...designed to carefully monitor a number of low-profile individuals in the north of England, Nottingham, Cambridge, Birmingham, London, Leicester and elsewhere, who were all tied...with underground and extremely ultra-right wing fascist organisations in Britain." (p.136.)
Sandman claimed the operation involved Special Branch, Scotland Yard and MI5. The Sandman went on to say that "...six of the people being carefully watched 'for extremist actions" had a personal interest in the UFO controversy." (p.137.) The thinking of the government agencies was that perhaps the UFO interest was just a cover for something else. The Sandman told Redfern this group of individuals created APEN to attempt to destabilise UK UFO groups, and recruit people for right-wing groups. The Sandman admitted to Redfern that to counter APEN's methods "We decided at Special branch and GCHQ that there was one way we could stop this: we began creating our own APEN letters and began sending them out." (p.142.) Redfern says that confirmation of Sandman's information came from another source via Andy Roberts. (p.142.)
Matthew Bevan:
Redfern interviewed "...a self confirmed computer hacker who lives in Wales..." (p.183) Bevan got into the subject of UFOs when "One guy in Australia - had on his bulletin board all these text files about UFOs. This was about 1994." (p.185.) He later hacked into computer files at Wright Patterson USAF base, looking for UFO information. Bevan's hacking activity came under the notice of Scotland Yard and the US "Defense Information Systems Agency" and the USAF Office of Special Investigations. Bevan was arrested and charged. later, be believed he was still under surveillance. (Click here for more on Bevan.)
Mathew Williams:
Williams was a South Wales UFO researcher, who in the mid to late 1990's was "...delving into claims that a crashed UFO and alien bodies were held deep below ground at a sensitive Royal Air Force installation in the south-west of England called RAF Rudloe Manor." (p.194.) Redfern asserts that Williams was under government surveillance, and that (citing the Sandman) "...questions would be asked at an official level about Williams' intentions - including even whether or not he was utilising his UFO research as a cover for working with none other than the Irish Republican Army. " (p.220.) Click here for other views on Williams.
"The British Roswell:"
Following a lead to a reported UFO 'crash' in the UK in early 1964, Redfern interviewed one Harold South. South told a story of seeing what appeared to be an Army, Police and RAAF operation to remove "...a large object had been lifted on to the trailer and had been a partially covered by a tarpaulin." (p.224.)
This object seemed to be a triangular shape, and South said that he was later interviewed by a police inspector, and his camera and photographs he had taken of the scene were taken by police. South told Redfern that Ministry of Defence Police had called him shortly before the interview with Redfern. Redfern wrote "There seemed only one conclusion: somebody in the intelligence or defence community wanted to let us know that by probing into the complexity of the Pentridge crash, we had opened up a sensitive can of worms." (p.228.)
GCHQ:
The UK's Government Communications Headquarters, was the target of research by UK researcher Robin Cole. Redfern reports "...that GCHQ has a large and impressive library that contains a considerable number of books on UFOs; that GCHQ was implicated in the study of military originated UFO encounters as far back as the early 1950's; and that GCHQ was involved in the investigation of an intriguing UFO incident that occurred off the East coast of England in October 1996..." (p.232.)
On 1992 Cole wrote a booklet titled "GCHQ and the UFO Cover-up." Someone from GCHQ rang Cole up to ask for his source. Later, he was interviewed by a Detective Sargent from Special branch, and apparently surveilled by the Ministry of Defence. For more on Cole click here.
Summary:
If you have never caught up with this book of Redfern's it is worth getting hold of a copy and studying it.
I'd be interest to hear from any blog readers who were caught up in the APEN saga and for your views on the accounts given in Redfern's book.
Monday, August 13, 2012
"Solving the Communion Enigma: What Is To Come" - Part two
This post continues my look at Whitley Strieber's latest book.
Topics other than abductions:
Strieber reviews the topic of crop circles, and animal mutilations in ensuing chapters. "As I have said, most of the researchers believe that we are looking at the work of creatures from another planet. Personally, I wonder if there is not a more thorough and accurate way of describing what is happening." (p.141.)
"The fact that our visitors are often seen walking through walls, as I have personally seen...Maybe driving into other universes in a car isn't more than just imaginative misinterpretation of commonplace events. Maybe such things can actually happen..." (p.162.)
The dead;
"In the years that followed my conversation with the FAA inspector, I began to see, more and more, that the dead were involved with our supposed alien visitors, and through them with us." (p.171.)
"Are we looking here, through the door that may have so distressed Dr Von Neumann, and finding on the other side not aliens, but another evolution of the human species..." (p.172.)
"It seems to me that the persistent appearance of the dead in the company of the visitors suggests that their mere presence breaks down the most fundamental of all barriers, which is the one that separates the living from the dead." (p.172.)
The Master of the Key:
Encounters with a mysterious entity Strieber calls "The Master of the Key" leads Strieber to write "The Master of the key opened a door for me when he commented, "You must understand that the living and the dead share the same world." He then added "You the living are changing now. As this change proceeds, your are better and better able to feel the presence of your dead." (p.192.)
"...the entire enterprise of close encounter is about the dropping of the veil between those who are in physical form and those who the Master said are in 'radiant' form." (p.192.)
"If conflict between mankind and this other level of consciousness is not even happening primarily in what we think of as the physical world, but in another aspect of reality, then it might appear as it does to us: extraordinary confusing..." (p.193.) If so then at our level "...it is operating as an attempt to shock us into a new level of awareness." (p.193.)
Will they contact us?
"As the United States is unlikely to admit that it knows that the visitors are real, it would seem that unless something completely unforeseen happens (always, perhaps the leading possibility), then they are not going to initiate contact, if at all, unless they must." (p.212.)
Comments:
There are some very interesting points which Strieber raises in this latest work, although some, such as the concept of talking to a dead friend who was with what appeared to be aliens, is a little hard to deal with.
What do readers think of Strieber's thoughts in this deep and complex work?
Topics other than abductions:
Strieber reviews the topic of crop circles, and animal mutilations in ensuing chapters. "As I have said, most of the researchers believe that we are looking at the work of creatures from another planet. Personally, I wonder if there is not a more thorough and accurate way of describing what is happening." (p.141.)
"The fact that our visitors are often seen walking through walls, as I have personally seen...Maybe driving into other universes in a car isn't more than just imaginative misinterpretation of commonplace events. Maybe such things can actually happen..." (p.162.)
The dead;
"In the years that followed my conversation with the FAA inspector, I began to see, more and more, that the dead were involved with our supposed alien visitors, and through them with us." (p.171.)
"Are we looking here, through the door that may have so distressed Dr Von Neumann, and finding on the other side not aliens, but another evolution of the human species..." (p.172.)
"It seems to me that the persistent appearance of the dead in the company of the visitors suggests that their mere presence breaks down the most fundamental of all barriers, which is the one that separates the living from the dead." (p.172.)
The Master of the Key:
Encounters with a mysterious entity Strieber calls "The Master of the Key" leads Strieber to write "The Master of the key opened a door for me when he commented, "You must understand that the living and the dead share the same world." He then added "You the living are changing now. As this change proceeds, your are better and better able to feel the presence of your dead." (p.192.)
"...the entire enterprise of close encounter is about the dropping of the veil between those who are in physical form and those who the Master said are in 'radiant' form." (p.192.)
"If conflict between mankind and this other level of consciousness is not even happening primarily in what we think of as the physical world, but in another aspect of reality, then it might appear as it does to us: extraordinary confusing..." (p.193.) If so then at our level "...it is operating as an attempt to shock us into a new level of awareness." (p.193.)
Will they contact us?
"As the United States is unlikely to admit that it knows that the visitors are real, it would seem that unless something completely unforeseen happens (always, perhaps the leading possibility), then they are not going to initiate contact, if at all, unless they must." (p.212.)
Comments:
There are some very interesting points which Strieber raises in this latest work, although some, such as the concept of talking to a dead friend who was with what appeared to be aliens, is a little hard to deal with.
What do readers think of Strieber's thoughts in this deep and complex work?
"Solving the Communion Enigma: What Is To Come" - part one
Dear readers,
I have finally reached the bottom of the "pile by the bed" of UFO books. I have saved one of the more interesting books until last.
Introduction:
U.S. bestselling author Whitley Strieber wrote a trilogy of non-fiction books, "Communion," "Transformation" and "Breakthrough" where he described his numerous and complex encounters with what he termed "the visitors." In this, his latest work, "Solving the Communion Engima: What Is To Come," published by Jeremy P Tarcher/Penguin. New York. ISBN 978-1-585-43917-2, Strieber looks back to these works, and then adds detail of what has happened to him since, and what he thinks is going on.
As he points out on page 1, accounts of "the visitors" are "...conventionally known as "close encounters of the third kind" or "alien abductions." But are they what they seem?" Strieber points out "After I published Communion, I was immediately - and absurdly, I thought - labelled as an advocate for alien contact." (p.2.) "As I have never embraced it, though, I cannot repudiate it, but I certainly don't reject the possibility."
No advances:
Strieber writes "But what of the dialogue about all this? In the sixty years since it first began, it has gone absolutely nowhere." (p.11.)
Strieber's thinking is that "...it has to do with the next stage in the evolution of this species..." (p.12.) "This is why I have titled this book Solving the Communion Enigma. Because truly, we have unfolding before us an incredible possibility, a journey into a new way of being that is as far from where we are now as the human mind is from that of the animals." (p.12.)
"The mirror shattered:"
Strieber's encounters include very unusual elements e.g. "During my 1985 encounter, I saw an old friend whom, as he told me some years before, had recently retired from the CIA. He was with these seeming aliens. Afterward, I found out from a relative of his that in December of 1985 when I saw him and talked to him, he had been dead for months." (p.14.)
In chapter two Strieber notes Dr Kenneth Ring's work which indicated that near-death and close-encounter witnesses recalled childhood trauma, and then analyses his own memories for evidence of such personal trauma. "I always hesitated to write about them because of the explosive implications that children were being abused under some very distasteful circumstances by people with some sort of official brief." (p.24.)
Strieber considers that he may have been involved in a government program as a child and adds "I think that my parents eventually understood that whatever I was being made to endure was causing me harm and got me out of the program." (p.28.)
Evidence:
Strieber went in search of evidence of just such a program, and concludes "...I would be very surprised if any will ever be forthcoming." (p.27.) Following this comment, he writes "Had I not as a child been brutalized by whatever this was, I don't think that I would have been able to perceive the visitors." (p.38.)
After relating his 1994 transition from upstate New York to San Antonia, and unusual events around that time, Strieber went to work with one Bill Mallow, and others on the topic of implants. "From what I have seen, though, I believe that the implants are a genuine mystery." (p.52.)
Personal implant;
In 1989, during the night, Strieber found "...a man and a woman standing in the doorway at the far end of the bedroom..." (p.54.) "Later that day, I noticed a sore lump at the top of my left ear. There was no trace of a scar or a wound..." (p.57.)
Next, while meditating "...people, not aliens, began to show up...They were physical but had capabilities very unlike our own..." (p.59.)
Strieber decided to have the implant in his ear removed by a Dr John Lerma, "Who diagnosed the swelling as a probable benign cyst." (p.61.)
Strangely, during the operation the implant moved and "...slid under the skin from the top of my ear down into my earlobe." (p.62.) Dr Lerma's instrument had a sliver of the object on it, but the rest remained in Strieber's ear. Two days later, it moved back into its original location. Strieber recalls that a pathologist told Fr Lerma "...the fragments was the strangest thing he had ever seen. It consisted of a metallic base with organic cilia growing out of it. He did not believe it was anything natural, or that it was known technology." (p.63.)
Motives:
Moving on to pose the question "What might they want?" Strieber reveals that on occasions he asked a question of a visitor. Sometimes a response was obtained. "And this is why one of the most profound aspects of close encounter may be very near the heart of their motive for hiding themselves." (p.73.)
Part two:
The second part of the book takes a look at evidence that "the visitors" leave behind. "Looked at in the aggregate, it suggest that a stealthy and many levelled process of penetration of our world and our lives is taking place." (p.75.)
Discussing a number of UFO accounts, Strieber concluded "...each of these incidents reveals two things: first, a display of what I would describe as "might" and second, one of defensive capabilities." (p.85.)
After reviewing the work of, and sightings, by Dr Paul Hill, Strieber writes "So when we see a combination of actions that induces official secrecy but also excites the curiosity of scientists, what we may be seeing is the enactment of policy. This policy would be to try to induce us to make the necessary discovery ourselves, so that we don't meet them as supplicants." (p.103.)
Continued next post.
I have finally reached the bottom of the "pile by the bed" of UFO books. I have saved one of the more interesting books until last.
Introduction:
U.S. bestselling author Whitley Strieber wrote a trilogy of non-fiction books, "Communion," "Transformation" and "Breakthrough" where he described his numerous and complex encounters with what he termed "the visitors." In this, his latest work, "Solving the Communion Engima: What Is To Come," published by Jeremy P Tarcher/Penguin. New York. ISBN 978-1-585-43917-2, Strieber looks back to these works, and then adds detail of what has happened to him since, and what he thinks is going on.
As he points out on page 1, accounts of "the visitors" are "...conventionally known as "close encounters of the third kind" or "alien abductions." But are they what they seem?" Strieber points out "After I published Communion, I was immediately - and absurdly, I thought - labelled as an advocate for alien contact." (p.2.) "As I have never embraced it, though, I cannot repudiate it, but I certainly don't reject the possibility."
No advances:
Strieber writes "But what of the dialogue about all this? In the sixty years since it first began, it has gone absolutely nowhere." (p.11.)
Strieber's thinking is that "...it has to do with the next stage in the evolution of this species..." (p.12.) "This is why I have titled this book Solving the Communion Enigma. Because truly, we have unfolding before us an incredible possibility, a journey into a new way of being that is as far from where we are now as the human mind is from that of the animals." (p.12.)
"The mirror shattered:"
Strieber's encounters include very unusual elements e.g. "During my 1985 encounter, I saw an old friend whom, as he told me some years before, had recently retired from the CIA. He was with these seeming aliens. Afterward, I found out from a relative of his that in December of 1985 when I saw him and talked to him, he had been dead for months." (p.14.)
In chapter two Strieber notes Dr Kenneth Ring's work which indicated that near-death and close-encounter witnesses recalled childhood trauma, and then analyses his own memories for evidence of such personal trauma. "I always hesitated to write about them because of the explosive implications that children were being abused under some very distasteful circumstances by people with some sort of official brief." (p.24.)
Strieber considers that he may have been involved in a government program as a child and adds "I think that my parents eventually understood that whatever I was being made to endure was causing me harm and got me out of the program." (p.28.)
Evidence:
Strieber went in search of evidence of just such a program, and concludes "...I would be very surprised if any will ever be forthcoming." (p.27.) Following this comment, he writes "Had I not as a child been brutalized by whatever this was, I don't think that I would have been able to perceive the visitors." (p.38.)
After relating his 1994 transition from upstate New York to San Antonia, and unusual events around that time, Strieber went to work with one Bill Mallow, and others on the topic of implants. "From what I have seen, though, I believe that the implants are a genuine mystery." (p.52.)
Personal implant;
In 1989, during the night, Strieber found "...a man and a woman standing in the doorway at the far end of the bedroom..." (p.54.) "Later that day, I noticed a sore lump at the top of my left ear. There was no trace of a scar or a wound..." (p.57.)
Next, while meditating "...people, not aliens, began to show up...They were physical but had capabilities very unlike our own..." (p.59.)
Strieber decided to have the implant in his ear removed by a Dr John Lerma, "Who diagnosed the swelling as a probable benign cyst." (p.61.)
Strangely, during the operation the implant moved and "...slid under the skin from the top of my ear down into my earlobe." (p.62.) Dr Lerma's instrument had a sliver of the object on it, but the rest remained in Strieber's ear. Two days later, it moved back into its original location. Strieber recalls that a pathologist told Fr Lerma "...the fragments was the strangest thing he had ever seen. It consisted of a metallic base with organic cilia growing out of it. He did not believe it was anything natural, or that it was known technology." (p.63.)
Motives:
Moving on to pose the question "What might they want?" Strieber reveals that on occasions he asked a question of a visitor. Sometimes a response was obtained. "And this is why one of the most profound aspects of close encounter may be very near the heart of their motive for hiding themselves." (p.73.)
Part two:
The second part of the book takes a look at evidence that "the visitors" leave behind. "Looked at in the aggregate, it suggest that a stealthy and many levelled process of penetration of our world and our lives is taking place." (p.75.)
Discussing a number of UFO accounts, Strieber concluded "...each of these incidents reveals two things: first, a display of what I would describe as "might" and second, one of defensive capabilities." (p.85.)
After reviewing the work of, and sightings, by Dr Paul Hill, Strieber writes "So when we see a combination of actions that induces official secrecy but also excites the curiosity of scientists, what we may be seeing is the enactment of policy. This policy would be to try to induce us to make the necessary discovery ourselves, so that we don't meet them as supplicants." (p.103.)
Continued next post.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
-
To the Stars Academy The other day, I was re-reading the list of team members of the To The Stars Academy (TTSA) , to refresh my memory ...
-
Background Some interesting individuals come and go in the field of UAP research. One of these, is an American woman named Valerie Jean R... -
Hi all, Introduction: The disappearance of Australian pilot Frederick Valentich, on 21 October 1978, over Bass Strait, Australia, has al...