UFO Research Integrity

Logic suggests explanations requiring the least number of hypothetical scenarios are often most feasible. Smart money goes with the most likely, least complex models when ranking possibilities. In UFO circles we frequently lose sight of most likely explanations. Part of the reason may be because so much time is devoted to imagining the extraordinary. We tend to gravitate towards believing what we hear the most, no matter how often it may be properly framed as supposition. It's difficult to keep things in perspective when a 15-second disclaimer is followed

By Jack Brewer The UFO Trail 6-15-20

by an hour of podcast speculation. Squeaky wheels get oil, even when delivered through sources such as fictional movies and television shows.

We often suspect the existence of hidden agendas - conspiracies, if you will - within the UFO genre because it can be so difficult to accept select researchers and organizations are as incompetent and credulous as they appear. Did the Roswell Slides promoters truly think that mummified Native American was a crash-landed visitor from the stars? Did Dr. Steven Greer really think that Atacama skeleton was an alien and did he and Dr. Garry Nolan honestly not understand the ethical concerns that would arise over their handling of it? Did Robert Bigelow and a team of consultants think there was scientific merit in hiring "security guards" to reportedly play with alleged voice phenomena and conduct similar occult practices? (That last scenario was apparently funded by your tax dollars.)

Could they have all sincerely had such poor judgement? Such reasonable questions abound.

The infamous Roswell Slides telltale placard

We might consider that, from a perspective of assessing research integrity, answers to the above questions don't really make that much difference. The integrity of research is weakened when investigators fail to respect and adhere to universally recognized protocols and codes of ethics. No matter what their agendas, their research is not reliable if they must incorporate numerous hypothetical scenarios into forming their arguments. We really don't need to know what personally motivated David Jacobs and if he is as obliviously incompetent as he seems in order to accurately identify his ethics failings and resulting poor quality of research. This means we don't learn anything of value, at least not about alleged paranormal experiences, from such material, and we are at high risk of absorbing and exposing others to incorrect information. Meanwhile, people are harmed and justifiably offended in the process of such examples as named thus far.

Paul Carr is a spacecraft systems engineer who facilitates several science-friendly podcasts. In response to request for comment on research integrity, Carr replied that he considers virtues of UFO research to include patience, humility, integrity and skepticism. Carr directs Aerial Phenomena Investigations (API), a UFO research group with a track record of commitments to evidence-based investigation and ethical treatment of UFO witnesses. He says the two go hand in hand.

"UFO research primarily deals with human memories," Carr stated, "and it has become clear to us at API that while the ethical treatment of witnesses and an open, honest, and careful approach to collecting and analyzing data are not the same thing, they are both members of a healthy body of research practice. Whatever threatens to corrupt one also threatens the other. Willful abuse of facts and fallacious reasoning readily metastasizes into abuses of innocent persons. This isn't something that just happens to organizations. It is a choice they make.

"It's not that we won't make mistakes - we will. It's what you do and how you change after a mistake is made that is the best marker of integrity."

Perhaps Robert Bigelow and his various teams assembled over the years have been unjustly saddled with conspiracy theories. It is possible they are simply as credulous as they seem to want us to believe.

Substantial resources were poured into a Utah ranch. Claims of extraordinary creatures, portals to other dimensions, and various sensational happenings, the vast majority of which purportedly defied any kind of significant documentation, became the stuff of legends. Maybe the involved credentialed researchers sincerely do not understand the inherent problems in expecting others to embrace their unverified claims. Maybe they are truly that blinded by belief.

The Typhoid Mary-like innocence of claimed ignorance meets large problems when issues of fully informed consent arise. This was not only the case at the Skinwalker Ranch, as former security guards expressed concerns over their apparent unwitting involvement in state-funded research, but was a key component of the infamous Carpenter Affair as well.

Maybe John Carpenter, Robert Bigelow, John Alexander, John Schuessler and others were truly oblivious to the ethical minefield of covertly supplying Bigelow's National Institute for Discovery Science (NIDS) with information discussed between therapist and clients. Data and recordings of hypnosis sessions from some 140 case files were obtained for about 100 bucks apiece. Maybe some of the people involved in facilitating and concealing the transaction just didn't see publicly addressing the circumstances and voicing objections as feasible options. Obviously not, given their stances of mostly silence and aversion to questions.

Perhaps some of them honestly believed the potential research gains outweighed the liabilities and betrayals. Maybe they honestly misunderstood and vastly overestimated the minimal scientific value of a collection of hypnosis-induced accounts of alien abduction. Such missteps are magnified when the parties claim to be conducting scientific study, as was the case.

Such scenarios, regardless of motive and intent, border dangerously on mad scientist territory. Codes of ethics are designed, in part, to deter researchers afflicted with delusions of self-importance from sacrificing human welfare during an incorrectly perceived pursuit of historic breakthroughs. This widely eludes much of the UFO genre and particularly its pro-hypnosis segment. Virtually anything appears deemed worth the cost of chasing an alien abduction carrot which has consistently remained out of reach.

"The importance of ethics in research integrity is that it creates the ground level from which all of your work is built," explained Dr. Christopher Cogswell, who holds a PhD in Chemical Engineering and co-hosts a popular podcast which explores fringe topics from reasoned perspectives. "If the ground isn't stable, then everything else you generate or say becomes built on a shaky foundation, which can easily be toppled by the first critical look at your methods and history. It is OK to be wrong or make a mistake, we are all human. But to continue despite evidence of mismanagement, error, or unethical practice makes your entire body of work suspect and tinged with that lens."

We could carry our line of considerations to its chronological next steps, the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP) and the resulting To The Stars Academy (TTSA). Maybe intelligence professionals such as Luis Elizondo and Christopher Mellon are simply overly enthusiastic about the UFO topic and don't understand the problematic nature of trying to turn film clips into proof of the extraordinary. Perhaps Elizondo was simply too inexperienced at UFO investigation to adequately assess an extremely questionable case he and the seemingly ultra credulous Tom DeLonge highlighted on cable television. Maybe there's just an overwhelming amount of UFO history for Elizondo to learn, and maybe it simply never occurred to him to secure receipts that could answer questions about his background before he went to TTSA and started making claims he was apparently unprepared to adequately address if questioned.

Maybe shelling out 35 grand for Art's Parts will prove brilliant. Perhaps the group's collection of alleged metal alloys, UAP fragments, or whatever the current going designation is will lead to paradigm-shifting discoveries. And, if not, maybe it all happened for no other reasons than none of the TTSA personnel knew any better.

An obvious problem with AATIP is it consisted of Robert Bigelow and some of his perpetual cast members. This is not necessarily a negative thing in itself, but from a perspective of integrity of research, it is only prudent to question the effectiveness of the work of investigators who spent decades apparently more dedicated to belief than time-tested protocols. That's the case, anyway, if we are to believe their past indiscretions, as already described, resulted entirely from simple error. Again, it doesn't matter from an integrity of research standpoint whether they are incompetent or have ulterior motives when the outcome chronically produces nothing of significant scientific value.

As may have been the case with issues surrounding the security personnel at Skinwalker and the exploited hypnosis subjects of John Carpenter, perhaps it was poor understandings and lack of foresight that contributed to the Bigelow-facilitated covert funneling of DIA funds into MUFON. Maybe Bigelow, Schuessler, and none of the involved parties realized the problematic nature of an intelligence agency funding a 501(c)(3) UFO organization while concealing the fact from the rest of its governing board members and the public at large.

Some of the boys in the Remote Viewing band. And NIDS.
And Skinwalker. And BAASS. And AATIP. And TTSA.

This isn't about people who may possibly be influenced by false memories or misidentify an exotic aircraft. We're not discussing individuals who experience some kind of event(s) they don't understand and go in search of answers. We're talking about credentialed scientists and professional intelligence personnel who in some cases subscribe to irresponsibly unsupported beliefs and flawed research methodologies, sometimes while under the commission of United States government grant funds.

It seems more than clear to this writer that, if we give all these people the benefit of the doubt and take them at their implied word, we should fully expect to scrutinize their opinions at length and have their research claims painstakingly verified before fully accepting them. Such investigators apparently, at best, suffer from recurring episodes of rather astoundingly poor judgement.

The good news is we don't have to rely on personalities and popularity as tools for assessing research. Its merit or lack thereof should be self-evident.

The fact will always remain that should some yet to be proven assertions turn out to be correct, they're indeed not established yet. Just because the future may show something to be accurate, that does not in any way mean you should currently exempt it from reasonable fact-checking. That's how we find out if it's true.

It is important we know the difference between facts and claims asserted by investigators, hold them accountable, and commit ourselves to respecting ethical standards and best practices as recognized by the professional research community. Integrity of UFO research, and ultimately what people believe is flying around up there, depend on it.

Continue Reading ►

See Also:

The UFO Reporters

The Pentagon UFO Program Saga: Lack of Professional Research Protocols and Standards of Evidence

Former Skinwalker Personnel Suspect They Were Unwitting Research Subjects

REPORT YOUR UFO EXPERIENCE

'Captured by Aliens?' – A Review

The latest publication from Nigel Watson is well-sourced and far-reaching as we have come to expect from his work. Captured by Aliens? A History and Analysis of American Abduction Claims #ad explores well over a century of reports of strange flying objects and their most peculiar crews in the United States. The famous Betty and Barney Hill abduction case serves as the backdrop for analysis. Readers with casual interest as well as those well-read on the case will find this a worthy work. Watson covers much in detail, including Air Force reports and physical evidence analyses.

By Jack Brewer The UFO Trail 6-8-20

The author sets the stage by considering UFO events leading up to the fateful New Hampshire night of 1961. The dive into events surrounding Maury Island and Kenneth Arnold are quite intriguing, particularly the threads followed on Fred Crisman and Clay Shaw.

Watson spends significant portions of the book exploring aspects of reported alien abductions. Select cases are described, as well as a general outline of common occurrences of alleged abductions.

Watson periodically reminds readers of the dubious nature of the abduction beast. Challenging Budd Hopkins's persistent claims of a wealth of photographic, medical and physical supporting evidence, Watson writes, "As we have seen, there is no video or physical evidence for alien abductions, and other forms of evidence are based on anecdotes or generalizations rather than hard facts or data."

This is not to suggest, however, that the author does not give the abduction devil its due. Whatever we are to ultimately make of the reported encounters, it is clear there are potentially relevant implications. As one psychology expert considered, the fairly common theme of abductions occurring while on long drives could be of interest to neuroscientists.

If there is something this reader would like to have seen the author cover more thoroughly, I would appreciate more critical review of the activities of investigators who were largely responsible for forming the public perception of alien abduction. A substantial amount of documentation has been published by many sources on the unethical actions of abduction gurus. The author chose not to address these circumstances for the most part, although concerns about hypnosis as a memory enhancer were repeatedly expressed, as were objections to non-professional hypnotists leading the fray. The lack of further addressing ethical concerns may be due in part to the book being a revised version of Watson's 2009 self-published work, The Alien Deception: An Exploration of the Alien Abduction Phenomenon, according to the opening pages.

Watson does indeed reference critical review undertaken by writer and researcher George Hansen. Watson also notes, "Ironically, Budd Hopkins, the very person who helped establish the concept of abduction has published ever-more fantastic accounts that even his followers find hard to accept at face value, and he has thereby eroded the validity of his original concepts."

However, aspects of the claims of Hopkins and other investigators are referenced without offering counterpoints. For instance, Hopkins's claims are noted pertaining to similarities of symbols which abductees purported to see during encounters and subsequently sketch later. The claim by Hopkins of their consistent similarities was effectively challenged by Carol Rainey with video footage to demonstrate its extremely questionable authenticity, including Hopkins qualifying the handling of the symbols was his attempt to "stack the deck".

In Watson's defense, he does not suggest Hopkins and other investigators were necessarily correct, but simply cites their claims as a means to establish what abductees seem to often report. Interestingly, investigators themselves may be among the most challenging hurdles to competently analyzing the abduction phenomenon: we are often at the mercy of their interpretations and agendas, absent access to the witnesses and what scarce data may exist. We don't know what happened, we know what they said someone else said happened, accounts often obtained through hypnosis and, at absolute best, a biased lens. It could be added that in some relevant instances this assessment of investigators is extremely generous and forgiving.

Barney and Betty Hill

Watson takes a deep and thorough dive into the role media played in public perception of flying objects and their purported occupants. Confirmed hoaxes carried out by newspapers, recurring over generations, are covered, as are relevant aspects of film, television, and radio. The implications are evident.

The author's interest in UFOs and related reports inspired him to obtain a degree in psychology. Watson therefore dedicates a chapter to its significance, and acknowledges how discussion of psychological issues is often met with heavy resistance from investigators and experiencers alike. He clearly endorses treating people respectfully, while clarifying the situation is much more complex than simply labeling someone sane or insane.

The risk of offending researchers or abductees is not a legitimate reason to neglect delving deeper into their accounts, Watson ultimately argues. He adds, "In the long term, a less emotionally charged view of their experiences is likely to be of more help to them than soothing platitudes."

Watson dedicates the final chapters to analyzing the Hill case and alleged alien abduction, considering the contradictions in logic, and discussing social implications. The Hill case continues to be fascinating to both believers and skeptics.

Captured by Aliens? represents hundreds of hours of research and decades of knowledge acquired by Nigel Watson. The citations are clear and abundant. It is a useful research tool as well as a significant work on mapping social aspects of the alien abduction phenomenon, particularly the Hill case.

Captured by Aliens? A History and Analysis of American Abduction Claims #ad is 215 pages. It is published by McFarland & Company, Inc.

Continue Reading ►

See Also:

UFO Expert Writes Latest Haynes Manual

Red Baron Shot Down UFO Over the Trenches

The Haynes UFO Investigations Manual; Long-time Publishers of Car Manuals Venture into Elusive Vehicles

REPORT YOUR UFO EXPERIENCE

Alien Abduction Supported By Cell Phone Data? – (Pt 2)

Photographs from an iPhone (see above), alleged to document an alien abduction were today (2-7-20) released publicly. Terry Lovelace Former lawyer Terry Lovelace (65) says his cell phone was in his pocket last April when he was abducted from his bed and taken aboard a craft over his home in Dallas, Texas. The images from his health and activity phone app show a vertical line which

By David Haith The UFO Chronicles 2-15-20

demonstrates the phone moved 60 feet upward in less than a minute. Later, Terry woke up traumatized, thinking he'd had a heart attack.

"I have no idea how long I was up there - likely about 32 minutes" he said.

Showing me pictures of his phone read out he explained that it displays the 60 seconds or less is the time it took him to travel 60 feet into the air at 5.23/4 am.

He said: "I assume I was somehow deposited back into my bed sometime between being taken at 5.23/4 and 5.55am when I awoke."

After what he believes was the abduction experience he discovered the phone remained in his pocket and the charger wire and his ear bud listening lead was still connected.

He explained: "The wires went up and down with me.”

When I awoke my earbuds were on my chest and the charging cable had been disconnected from the power socket. In older homes the connection becomes loose from usage and wear, so pulling the charger from the wall didn't require a lot of force."

He was rushed to hospital but after seven hours released with no cardiac event being diagnosed.

He had no recollection of the April event but revealed today that the following month he underwent hypnotic regression.

During this he recalled travelling through his house ceiling and into the air towards and into a large saucer through a camera-lens type opening in its underside.

Terry is well known in UFO circles for his book, Incident at Devil's Den which documents how in 1977 he and a friend were abducted into a huge triangle shaped craft while they were camping in Arkansas.

In an interview with Dean Caporella on the recent Alien Live revealed summit online he talked for the first time about the recent April abduction and how it was recorded on his cell phone.

In a new interview with me today Terry responded to skeptics and critics who are suggesting he might have strapped his phone to a drone to obtain the same app readings.

He said: "I don't own a drone and have never operated one. I have no proof other than my word. I do have medical bills that document my ambulance ride and hospital stay for April 16. If I hoaxed this, it was a costly venture"

Terry also answered critics who suggested that because he revealed in the Alien Live interview that he'd written a motion picture script of his experiences, he was a fraud just out to make money.

He said: "I've made my money. I worked very hard over a lifetime and had a very good career both in private practice and in public service. I don't need to sell books or cash in on a movie script"

He explained that he wrote the script so his story would be portrayed accurately without theatrics. He said he wrote his book as a cathartic exercise to relieve flashbacks, nightmares and obsessive thoughts that interfered with his life.

He revealed that the month following the April phone event he climbed five flights of stairs as quickly as he could manage with the same phone in his pocket.

He said: "The iPhone health app showed a stair-step like readout because time passed as I climbed upward. The reason my April health app shows a single bar is because I covered 60 feet - the equivalent of six flights of stairs - between 5.23am and 5.24am - a time that could have been anywhere between one and 60 seconds."

He added: "The two year old iPhone 6 has been through diagnostics and I will make it available for scrutiny under reasonable conditions. The lady at Apple who ran the diagnosis said the health app measures height by change in barometric pressure. She was confident about its accuracy. It's not measured by GPS - that has a margin of error. It doesn't show that I ever climbed down stairs. That would not have registered as 'steps taken' since I wasn't descending a ladder or opposing gravity. My phone shows that I took zero steps at 5.24am - I only traveled upward. My descent, absent body movement, would simply not register. That's how she explained it to me. I'm no engineer."

Terry revealed that his regression was performed by Robert Schwartz, a medical doctor with a psychiatric practice in Dallas.

He said: "I have the session on digital card. My regressed memory of April 16th was traveling through the ceiling and into the air toward a large saucer over my home. The bottom of the craft opened like a camera lens or an eye pupil and I was inside the craft. Even under hypnosis I couldn't provide much detail about being inside the ship. It was emotionally traumatic to relive and I was told would likely take several sessions to recall more detail."

The Dallas abduction all happened while Terry's wife slept beside him unaware until he awoke in distress thinking he was having a heart attack.

He said: "My wife is accustomed to strangeness and odd occurrences. She has been with me through screaming nightmares once or twice a year. She's very supportive and accepts that for some reason I am a ‘targeted individual’. She has spoken with my 82 year old sister who verified, that at times ...’Terry would disappear from the house when the lights came in through the windows’ I was between 5 and 8 years old when those events happened."

He told of one experience in 1987 when his wife woke up in the middle of the night and found he wasn't in bed beside her.

Explained Terry: "At the foot of the bed, silhouetted against a window, was an entity she perceived to be a young petite woman, possibly Asian. This woman telepathically told my wife "Everything's OK, go back to sleep" And she did! That was very uncharacteristic of my wife who's been frightened by a home intruder."

There's one other small piece of evidence of Terry's abduction - if he was carried literally through the solid plaster and timber of his home's roof.
Terry revealed: "My wife found pink fibers on the bed where I'd slept. They were consistent with attic insulation."

Continue Reading ►

See Also:

Alien Abduction Supported By Cell Phone Data? – (Pt 1)

Most Documented UFO Sighting, Abduction – 40 Years Later

Seeking USAF Veterans Who Had Abduction-Like Experiences at Nuclear Missile Sites

In The Days of My Youth: Why Do Childhood Abduction Memories Seem To Be Clearer In Many Abductees?

REPORT YOUR UFO EXPERIENCE

UFO Captive Tells Her Story To J. Allen Hynek

[...]

After being swooped out of her car and brought aboard the craft, she said, "I was in a room by myself, it was large and hexagon shaped. When they put me on the table, I was restrained so that my head was held tight by something that I

By The Daily Collegian 11-6-1979

couldn't move and it was so painful that when I was under hypnosis, I kept complaining about how bad my head hurt."

She then went on to describe three types of aliens that she encountered. There was a very pretty black haired woman who looked very human. I felt like she was there to reassure me, she was compassionate, and said, 'don't worry Judy.' I wondered how in the world she knew my name, it was like they had been watching me," she said.

There was another group of aliens who wore skin-tight gray suits, had very pale white skin and wore oxygen-like masks covering most of their faces.

[...]

See Also:

ANTONIO VILLAS BOAS: TOTAL ABDUCTION

Questioning Alien Abduction Research Methodology

Charles Hickson Recounts UFO Abduction of 1973

-click and or right click on image(s) to enlarge-

REPORT YOUR UFO EXPERIENCE

Men Taken Aboard UFO? Nearby Radar Jammed | Pascagoula UFO Incident – 1973

A Marion County civil defense official reported an Unidentified Flying Object knocked out his radar Sunday night, shortly after two scientists said they were still convinced two men were taken aboard a UFO along the Gulf Coast near Pascagoula.

Journal News (Hamilton, Ohio) 10-15-1973

Drs. James Harder of the University of California and Allen Hynek, chairman at Northwestern University, said they were convinced Charles Hickson and Calvin Parker encountered a non-terrestrial craft last week.

[...]

See Also:

Pascagoula UFO Incident: Scientist Term Pas UFO Report As 'True' | UFO CHRONICLE – 1973

Pascagoula: The Closest Encounter, My Story – A REVIEW

Alien Abductee, Calvin Parker Breaks Silence | Pascagoula Incident – VIDEO

The Pascagoula UFO Incident: There Were More Witnesses

Chaos Consumed Jackson County After Charles Hickson's Alleged Alien Abduction

Alien Abductee, Calvin Parker Breaks Silence – Gives Rare Interview | VIDEO

South Mississippi has History of UFO Sightings

UFO NEWS | Claimed Alien Abductee, Charles E. Hickson Sr Passes Away at Age 80

VIDCAST | Charles Hickson Recounts His Alien Abduction with Dr J Allen Hynek

Charles Hickson Recounts UFO Abduction of 1973

- click and or right click on image(s) to enlarge -

REPORT YOUR UFO EXPERIENCE

Pascagoula UFO Incident: Scientist Term Pas UFO Report As 'True' | UFO CHRONICLE – 1973

Two area men who told that they were taken aboard a UFO here Thursday night were put under hypnosis Saturday by two scientists who have spent years studying reports of UFOs. Both doctors said the men were telling the truth, that they were indeed taken aboard "an extraterrestrial craft."

By Murphy Givens Mississippi Press Register 10-14-1973

Dr. James Harder, professor at the University of California and also associated with the Aerial Phenomena Research Organization (APRO) and Dr. J. Allen Hynek, professor of astronomy at Northwestern University of Chicago, spent four hours with the two Gautier men.

Charles Hickson 45, and Calvin Parker, 19, spent several hours, separately, under hypnosis Saturday, reliving their strange story of being taken aboard a spaceship.

[...]

See Also:

Pascagoula: The Closest Encounter, My Story – A REVIEW

Alien Abductee, Calvin Parker Breaks Silence | Pascagoula Incident – VIDEO

The Pascagoula UFO Incident: There Were More Witnesses

Chaos Consumed Jackson County After Charles Hickson's Alleged Alien Abduction

Alien Abductee, Calvin Parker Breaks Silence – Gives Rare Interview | VIDEO

South Mississippi has History of UFO Sightings

UFO NEWS | Claimed Alien Abductee, Charles E. Hickson Sr Passes Away at Age 80

VIDCAST | Charles Hickson Recounts His Alien Abduction with Dr J Allen Hynek

Charles Hickson Recounts UFO Abduction of 1973

- click and or right click on image(s) to enlarge -

REPORT YOUR UFO EXPERIENCE

Ufology Talking Points

Let's start with qualifying that I don't consider myself an expert on UFOs and the state of ufology. Like many, I developed an interest in the subject matter and came to know much more about it than the average individual. Of the things I learned, a lot of it is probably not worth knowing. Just ask the people that tolerate me. My descent into ufology resulted in my book, "The Greys Have Been Framed: Exploitation in the UFO Community,"which contains a lot of the things I think are relevant about the genre. I'm very pleased with the reviews it has received, and I'm grateful for the websites, radio shows and podcasts which have interviewed me about it. Thank you!

By Jack Brewer ufotrail.blogspot.com 3-17-16

Those interviews and related circumstances have provided me opportunities to reflect. Following are a few points that typically come up and I've recently been giving particular consideration:

Kinds of Information

I think there are essentially three kinds of information when we're discussing UFOs, aliens and the related claims and research:

1) That which can be verified to be correct and accepted

2) That which can be confirmed to be incorrect and rejected

3) That which cannot be conclusively confirmed one way or the other, requiring suspension of judgment

While we can often take a pretty good guess at which category a claim or researcher's thesis might fall in, there is no substitute for verification. We then have responsibilities (if we are going to purport to be conducting professional research or scientific investigation) to follow protocols, and particularly the recognition of standards of evidence, as established by the professional research community and academia. We also have responsibilities to recognize those standards of evidence if we purport to be advocates of professional research when promoting various investigators and their work as credible. Which brings us to:

Belief vs. Fact

I think, therefore I recognize
standards of evidence 

We're entitled to believe pretty much anything we choose, but if we desire others to share and embrace our beliefs, we have responsibilities to present those people with factual information to sway their perspectives. To expect or demand the agreement of others while providing no credible information, as described above, is unreasonable. The reasonable and intelligent person is not convinced by anecdotes, repetition and volume, but by facts and verifiable evidence.

We have responsibilities to accurately differentiate between beliefs and facts when arguing our points. We are allowed to believe as we choose, as well as disagree with one another and debate with passion, but if we neglect to respect professional standards of evidence, we promote confusion rather than clarification.

Hypnosis

I find it rather insulting that hypnosis as a memory retrieval tool even continues to be an issue at this point - and is a glaring example of disregard for the points made in the above paragraphs. Here's the bottom line, guys: If a researcher or organization claims to promote scientific investigation and conducts hypnosis, they are incorrect; the two stances are mutually exclusive of one another. That's not my opinion, but the platform of the current scientific paradigm. I just cite it.

What's more, work conducted by professionally qualified researchers concludes that not only are memory enhancing techniques unreliable, but their use may be detrimental. It has additionally been conclusively demonstrated - repeatedly - that the manners questions are asked greatly alters the responses. See the work, which includes clinical trials and peer review, of Shaw, Loftus, French, Lilienfeld, Morgan, etc., etc., etc. All of this and much more is addressed in my book and references are thoroughly provided.

The cow is long out of the gate on this one. Let's move on and recognize unsubstantiated assertions for what they are.

Mind Control

The big MC. I find the topic of interest and I try to write about it responsibly. I think that can be defined as clarifying my opinions, citing facts as to how I form my opinions and suspicions, and differentiating between those and facts.

Director of Project MKULTRA,
Dr. Sidney Gottlieb

It is my opinion that unethical activities conducted by intelligence agencies, such as now declassified documents confirm about the CIA, may have become enmeshed with the UFO subculture and resulted in reports of alleged alien abduction. I form this supposition, pending further information, based on the fact the mind control projects existed, combined with the fact the involved agencies were manipulating the topic and public perception of UFOs during the same era. Given such profiles that can be made of CIA, additional intel agencies, and their activities, I am of the opinion that further research is justified into the possibilities. I suspect some of the targets of behavior modification projects misinterpreted the circumstances as alien abduction, particularly with the encouragement of so-called and often overeager ufologists.

There are a number of additional possible scenarios which could be relevant to the UFO community. I think that angle of research deserves more attention than it typically receives, and I find it interesting. Much more about this is offered in 'The Greys Have Been Framed'.

What Should Be Done for "Abductees"

First of all, I'm not sure anything should be done. I'm a rather big advocate of allowing people to find their own ways and their own solutions. People usually don't want suggestions until they become convinced they need them, so "alien abduction" might not be much different.

That stated, if I were to make recommendations, based on my own observations and in my admittedly professionally unqualified opinion, I'd say the first thing to do would be to encourage treatment for trauma. Alleged abductees, as well as a number of UFO witnesses, describe the circumstances as traumatic. It therefore stands to reason that professional treatment for trauma would be appropriate regardless of the possible origin of the perception.

Next, I'd say that witnesses, as well as investigators and their organizations, should consciously identify the kind of support they are seeking and providing. Emotional support, therapeutic treatments, and objective investigation are different activities, require different areas of expertise, and should not be intermingled haphazardly for many reasons. All too often, fragmented simulations of such activities are provided by groups and individuals who are qualified at none of them, mix them all together without even realizing it, and the quality suffers of both the life of the witness and the investigation.

So-called "UFO investigation" appears to me, based on years of observations and the work I conducted while writing my book, to frequently become some bastardization of mental health therapy, particularly in the alien abduction genre. However, the investigators typically are neither therapists nor any kind of mental health professional. It would therefore be very beneficial to the community and the well-being of the witnesses if all involved made intentional decisions as to what type of support, be it emotional, therapeutic or investigative, was being sought and offered, and conducted themselves accordingly.

Continue Reading ►

See Also:

Alien Abduction Research Expands

New, 'Rigorous Scientific Research to The Study of UFOs'

Project Core, the UFO Community and Professional Research

REPORT YOUR UFO EXPERIENCE

The Greys Have Been Framed: Exploitation in the UFO Community

By Jack Brewer
ufotrail.blogspot.com
12-18-15

     I'm happy to announce my new book is now available on Amazon and may be purchased at 'The Greys Have Been Framed: Exploitation in the UFO Community'.I'll provide a description below, along with the introduction contained on the first few pages. Please email me directly with inquiries or challenges that may arise. Thank you.

Description:

'The Greys Have Been Framed: Exploitation in the UFO Community'explores the ways deception, sensationalism and questionable ethics characterize the UFO genre and distort public perception of the UFO phenomenon. With interviews and insights from James Carrion, Leah Haley, Dr. Tyler Kokjohn, Simone Mendez, Carol Rainey, Emma Woods and others, the manipulation of ufology as perpetrated by suspect individuals and the intelligence community is documented. The circumstances, existing from the very outset of the modern day UFO phenomenon, prove relevant whatever opinion one may hold on the mystery of UFOs and their alleged occupants.

Introduction


I came to the dance for the same reasons as lots of people. UFOs and seemingly related phenomena were a longtime interest for a variety of reasons and I desired to learn more.

My on again, off again journey through the UFO community went on for decades. While there were times I thought I was learning some things about reported UFO sightings and alleged alien abduction, I eventually came to the realization I had actually been learning more about people and dynamics that make up the UFO community. In the vast majority of circumstances, I think much more can be learned about the people, organizations and government agencies participating in the steeplechase than the often nebulous and unverifiable things they claim and promote.

In 2010 I began writing a blog, The UFO Trail. I made intentional efforts to explore people of interest and the related circumstances in credible manners, including holding some of the players accountable for their actions. I wrote about individuals and organizations that claim to investigate UFOs and alleged alien abductions, often concluding that the researchers and their groups should be considered much more critically than typically the case.

Other demographics explored included alleged alien abductees, self-described experiencers of high strangeness and UFO witnesses. I also blogged about members of the intelligence community, as well as people who suspected themselves to be targets of human-instigated covert operations. Interestingly, the demographics often overlapped.

The UFO Trail included posts about and submissions from scientists, mental health professionals, authors, filmmakers, researchers, scholars, skeptics and more. My intention was to provide a factual account and well rounded view of what came to be known as ufology. It became abundantly clear there were relevant aspects of the UFO genre typically being overlooked for a variety of reasons, none of which are conducive to better understanding what's actually going on.

The general thesis I developed is that a genuine mystery may lie at the heart of humankind's fascination with the unknown, but public perception of whatever phenomena it may include has been exploited, distorted and manipulated for a variety of reasons. The perpetrators span several demographics, including the intelligence community, hoaxers, disingenuous writers, con men and, in all reasonable likelihood, lunatics, among others.

I think it likely the mid 20th century US intelligence community conducted a variety of deception operations mistaken for UFO-related phenomena. Some of those operations were intended to create confusion surrounding airborne objects. However, I am reasonably confident in some of the cases it was colorful writers and overactive imaginations, not intelligence officials, that encouraged the public to prematurely conclude phenomena, such as the so-called ghost rockets, had something to do with extraterrestrials. I do not think it was the specific intent of the architects of the operations, at least not always. Sometimes it was just a byproduct. Other times it appears to have been more intentional.

Yet other times there may have been truly unusual phenomena involved. After all, reasonable arguments have been made that such phenomena have been with humankind for a long, long time. Perhaps that is correct. Unfortunately, the tainting of the well as perpetrated by both the intelligence and UFO communities, which are ironically at times one and the same, has often rendered the task virtually impossible of sorting fact from fiction.

As the situation continued to progress, public fascination with UFOs and aliens mushroomed. In the process, more opportunities and reasons developed to produce state-sponsored propaganda related to UFOs. Further comprising the self-perpetuating snowball effect were filmmakers, authors, upstart research organizations and entrepreneurs marketing wide varieties of products and services. Hypnotists found a niche, with or without reasonable training, as did self-styled investigators who churned out books, movies and so-called instructional workshops to most anyone who was willing to ante up registration fees. Lots of people wanted in on the act. Trouble was, none of them were presenting any proof to support their claims of aliens among us, while a large percentage of the UFO community was nonetheless driven to near hysterics while becoming convinced of alien intervention in the sometimes most mundane of events. I came to strongly suspect the reason conclusive proof of an extraterrestrial presence remained ever elusive was simple: it was an incorrect explanation for the reported sightings and experiences.

I suspect what became known as the modern day UFO phenomenon arose out of a combination of potentially legitimately unusual occurrences, covert operations conducted by the intelligence community and a public willing to be deceived. Charlatans substantially contributed to the effect, as did some sincere yet entirely incorrect researchers.

Much of the material in this book is subsequently presented from a position of being rather unimpressed with sensational stories of aliens. That is not to necessarily suggest there are no reports of high strangeness of interest, but the focus of this offering is the exploitation of public perception of what may sometimes be genuinely mysterious phenomena, and the related cultivation of inaccurate beliefs that such circumstances represent extraterrestrial visitation.

Basically, I think the greys have been framed. That doesn't have to mean there is nothing of interest under the sun, but I am indeed suggesting that ufology, by and large, has not taught us much about it. People have been hurt in the process. They've also been misled. Lots and lots of them. I think that deserves its share of attention, at least in proportion to the continuing parade of self-described investigators who chronically assert increasingly wild speculation as fact while consequences are enabled and ignored.

I would like to thank the many people who offered assistance and helped in the process of creating this book. They are far too many to name, but they are each greatly appreciated. Technical assistance, editing and other valuable services, as well as emotional support and encouragement, were generously offered. Those who gave their time and attention in fielding questions and providing comments on the forthcoming pages are appreciated as well. I also sincerely thank and appreciate my blog readers, whose interest, comments and support were primary reasons this book ever made it off the proverbial drawing board and onto these pages. Thank you.

The Greys Have Been Framedis dedicated to the countless individuals who approached the UFO community seeking reliable information, yet found their lives forever detrimentally changed amid deception and obfuscation. Many encountered unethical agendas, mystery mongering and a lack of accountability among investigators and organizations designating themselves as qualified to help. Exactly why such exploitation and manipulation occurs continues to remain unknown in many specific situations.

Continue Reading ►

See Also:

Dozens of Gov Offices Regularly Visit UFO Website

Homeland Security Reads 'The UFO Trail'

Unknowns Entered Earth Orbit, Hover Over Former Soviet Union | MY UFO EXPERIENCE

REPORT YOUR UFO EXPERIENCE

MUFON, Sham Inquiry and the Woods/Jacobs Scandal

By Jack Brewer ufotrail.blogspot.com/ 8-11-15

Recipient of MUFON PA 2015 Lifetime Achievement Award, Dr. David Jacobs

     Retired historian, author and investigator of alleged alien abduction Dr. David Jacobs will be presented a lifetime achievement award at an upcoming conference conducted by MUFON PA in Philadelphia. Jacobs is also the keynote speaker for the October event. In a bio on his website, Jacobs purports to be "a strong advocate of strict scientific and ethical research methodology," and MUFON purports via its mission statement to be dedicated to "the scientific study of UFOs for the benefit of humanity."

Well, I'm always up for some good strict scientific info on UFOs, so hot damn! This outghta be great, right?

Right?

I emailed MUFON Executive Director Jan Harzan and MUFON PA State Director John Ventre and asked permission to pose a few questions. For the sake of accuracy and context I will share an August 8 email exchange, rather than summarize it, that subsequently occurred with Ventre. I will then present what I interpret to be significant points of interest.

The Email Exchange

My initial email read as follows:

Hello Gentlemen:

Jack Brewer here from the blog, 'The UFO Trail'.

Would it be okay if I email you a few questions about the upcoming MUFON PA conference in Philadelphia and include your responses in a blog post? I would particularly like to obtain information about the selection process resulting in Dr. David Jacobs as the keynote speaker and recipient of a lifetime achievement award as described in the following link:

Philadelphia Speakers | MUFON PA

Thanks for your consideration,

Jack
The UFO Trail

Below is John Ventre's reply and the subsequent exchange between the two of us with minor edits for grammar and clarity.

Jack:

I already answered that question on the UFOinfo forum and don't plan to do that again. There are 3-4 antagonist haters on that site that ruins it for everyone else.

If you are writing an objective article then I will reply.

My response:

Thanks for your reply. I'm not familiar with your forum post, but perhaps you will offer responses to the following items at your convenience:

Who was empowered to select Dr. David Jacobs as a recipient of a lifetime achievement award?

What was the criteria used to select a recipient?

Given the MUFON mission statement of dedication to scientific study for the benefit of humanity, would you please explain specifically what methodology employed by Jacobs was identified as scientific? What makes it so?

Thanks,

Jack

Jack:

I select the speakers for our 3 Pa conferences which you can view at www.mufonpa.com. I have read approx. 30 UFO books in the past year as I try to figure out the origin of the Grey abduction phenomena. The only 3 names referenced multiple times in these books are Mack, Vallee and Jacobs. I was surprised that Kathie Marden who heads up MUFON's abduction research was never mentioned. I tried to book Vallee who said he no longer does conferences and Mack is no longer with us. We also try to recognize a veteran in the field with a lifetime achievement award. In the past, we recognized Stanton Friedman, Linda Moulton Howe, Bill Birnes and Travis Walton. We are also recognizing Loren Coleman at our Pitt Conf in Nov. I also don’t theme my Pa conferences and offer a variety of speakers and topics including Bigfoot and the paranormal etc. You also need to know that MUFON states operate fairly independent of HQ so these were my decisions. Jacobs was a pioneer in this field when there were few. Jacobs and Hopkins basically wrote the book on regressive hypnosis and many of their techniques are still used today. For critics who say he had no formal training, I say he has a PhD and there was no formal training in this field when he started. I think Jacobs is highly qualified and I say to the critics that you can view it as an Elia Kazan 1999 Academy Award. You don’t have to like the man or his methods but his contributions to Ufology stand. I for one absolutely agree that the ETs are not here to help. That is Jacobs' message. I have a different view on who they actually are and you can read all about that in my new book, "Case for UFOs" in September. . . . . .

Thanks
John Ventre

Thanks, John, and I understand that you would obviously be tolerant of Dr. Jacobs' methodology, else you would not have offered him a lifetime achievement award - but that does not address my inquiry about scientific study.

So I would pose the question this way, please:

Did you identify any of Jacobs' methodology as scientific, or did you decide you were not concerned about his lack of practicing scientific study?

Also, would you please offer a quote or two on how you resolve your choice of Jacobs as an award recipient with the Emma Woods scandal?

If helpful, here is a page containing specific quotes and recordings of interactions between Jacobs and Woods during hypnosis:

The UFO Trail: The Woods/Jacobs Tapes and the 'Oral History' Falsehood

Would you please explain, specifically, how you reconcile such statements with presenting a lifetime achievement award from a purportedly scientific research organization?

Thanks,

Jack

Jack:

State conferences do not follow the same criteria as the yearly Symposium. They can be informative, entertaining or instructive. I once had a punk rock band perform a UFO song for us at the end of the conference. I thought it was great. I read Bill Birnes' take on Jacobs and Woods years ago. That’s for the courts to decide, not me. By your logic, we should condemn NASA and the US space program because we recruited NAZI scientists and Wernher von Braun. Not my place. Jacobs has contributed much to the field and is one of the few voices who doesn’t believe abductions are for our benefit and "They" are here to help us. John Wayne and Clint Eastwood were never really great actors but they won academy awards for their body of work.

Be sure to send me a link to your article.

I sincerely do not mean to be overly aggressive on the point of scientific study, John, but you are arguably evading the question.

Did you or did you not consider sound scientific research principles as criteria for potential lifetime achievement award recipients?

Would you please explain your stance on the Emma Woods scandal in relation to bestowing David Jacobs with an award?

Those do not seem like unreasonable questions to me. If you disagree, I am more than willing to quote any explanations you might care to provide as to why the points are not valid or are unreasonable. ...

Continue Reading . . .

See Also:

Aliens Walk Among Us? Indeed, Claims Retired Temple Professor

Hypnosis, the Intelligence Community and Ufology

UFO Community Members Weigh in on Dubious MUFON Speakers

REPORT YOUR UFO EXPERIENCE