Follow The Magic Thread

Sex, Lies and Audiotape

2011-02-14T07:36:00.000-07:00

Unless you have been hibernating on vacation in the Bahamas, you have probably heard of the current trouble brewing within MUFON between those MUFON members voicing their discontent with changes in MUFON and MUFON’s autocratic and bureaucratic leadership.

News spread like wildfire across the Internet recently after four MUFON State Directors were fired within a short timeframe. There, I used the F word, although MUFON International Director Clifford Clift prefers to use the more euphemistic “let go”. “I am letting you go” is what you tell a caller who doesn’t get the hint that a phone conversation has dragged on ad nausea, not when terminating a volunteer. Poor choice of words aside, what is interesting is not that this purge occurred but who was excommunicated from the organization. I was shocked that two long standing State Directors, both very active in UFO circles were on the chopping block.

Sex

Almost immediately the Internet rumor mill began to churn and someone spat out on a message board that it seemed highly suspicious that all four state directors were women. Was the MUFON Board living up to its “Good Old Boys” image and reasserting its testosterone laden will on gender demographics or was it just pure coincidence?

Clifford Clift correctly pointed out that this batch of firings was just women but the previous batch was men, so truth be told, the MUFON Board is probably not made up of misogynists.

Lies

Clifford Clift in an email to all State Directors gave his reasoning for both sets of personnel actions:

From the first batch, Ken Cherry was fired as the State Director for Texas because he made derogatory comments about MUFON, members, witnesses, and Ufologists and refused to publicly apologize. James Clarkson resigned as State Director for the state of Washington due to his dislike of MUFON's bureaucracy. For some reason Clifford omitted why he fired Richard Lang, State Director for North Carolina and the one time wonder boy of the MUFON Star Team, but more about Richard in a future blog article.

From the second batch, Christine Dickey, by her request, was removed as State Director for Arizona. Marilyn Carlson, State Director for Oklahoma resigned. Elaine Douglass, State Director for Utah was removed from her position because she wasn't truthful about her Assistant State Director. Leslie Varnicle was removed as State Director of Colorado due to her management style not being beneficial to MUFON's success.

So seven State Directors, one seventh of the MUFON State Directorship gone within a year, four of them fired and three resigned. What in the world is going on in MUFON?

Well, as much as the MUFON Board wants to paint this as just business as usual, there is far more than meets the eye here.

Let’s start with the charge of untruthfulness as a reason for firing a State Director. Well I don’t really know what Elaine Douglass allegedly lied about but I can tell you that Clifford Clift was less than truthful about why Leslie Varnicle was fired from her position.

The reason Clifford originally gave for Leslie being fired was that her management style was not beneficial to MUFON. Really? Of all the MUFON State Chapters that I interacted with during my almost four year tenure as MUFON International Director, the Colorado and Minnesota MUFON chapters were always at the top of my ratings list for chapter cohesiveness, satisfied members, and efficient management. All you have to do is examine where the MUFON Annual Symposium was held over the last five years to know that Colorado MUFON under Leslie’s leadership was continuously entrusted with running this important event and she did an incredible job.

So what was the real reason behind Leslie being fired?

Audiotape

A MUFON member made an audio recording of the annual meeting between the MUFON State Directors and the MUFON Board. That audio recording made its way to me and after listening to the recording, I confronted the MUFON Board about some libelous remarks that were made at the meeting. I also heard through the rumor mill that it was Leslie who recorded that audio, but since then, I have learned it was someone else. Evidently, the MUFON Board had heard the same rumors because Clifford Clift in an interview with Angelia Joiner finally ‘fessed up to the real reasons Leslie was fired. Stated reason number one was because Leslie was in the “Ken Cherry” camp and reason number two; because she recorded the State Director’s meeting when she was told not to.

So why didn’t the MUFON Board just come out and state these reasons to begin with instead of labeling Leslie as an inept leader whose management style was not beneficial? Well if you read my previous blog article “MUFON Over Board-Save Our Ship”, and how I was equally scapegoated by this same board, it boils down to the new leadership worrying more about MUFON’s image and avoiding litigation than doing what is ethically and morally responsible.

Grassroots vs. Autocratic Rule

Let me take you back to 1969 when two disgruntled Aerial Phenomena Research Organization (APRO) members who were fed up with the bureaucracy and autocratic rule of APRO leaders, decided to form their own UFO Investigative organization. This fledgling organization, first known as the Midwest UFO Network subsequently became the Mutual UFO Network. One of those founding members, John Schuessler is still on the MUFON Board of Directors.

In John’s own words he described the events of that year:

“At the same time the APRO management reacted to the government’s words by reinforcing their centralized management approach. They wanted to direct the work of each investigator in the field from the office in Tucson, Arizona; thereby eliminating the need for mid-level management in the field. They were not aware that industry was turning to the decentralized management style.

Pleas to the APRO management only made them more determined that the Midwest contingent was a threat rather than a help to APRO.”

History Repeats Itself

I can imagine how furious Jim and Coral Lorenzen must have been when the “Andrus and Schuessler Camp” left the organization and began to compete for members. I can imagine the self righteous “good riddances” uttered on the APRO Board and the rallying of the APRO troops that followed as the leadership scrambled to consolidate APRO’s image and message. In the end it was all for naught because APRO had already lost its moral and ethical compass and the organization failed.

When an organization’s Board of Directors doesn’t listen to its constituents and dabbles only in self talk backed up by quashing voices of dissent through unethical actions; that organization is on a path of self destruction, just like APRO found itself so many years ago. Hopefully the MUFON Board of Directors and especially founding member John Schuessler can remember MUFON’s humble beginnings and reverse the dangerous course of autocratic and unethical rule MUFON has embarked on. Otherwise, those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.

Hunting the Skinwalker

2011-02-08T05:46:00.000-07:00

It was after uncovering some disturbing information about the Skinwalker Ranch owned by Robert Bigelow that I began to have doubts about the real purpose behind the MUFON-BAASS project. Bigelow Aerospace Advanced Space Studies (BAASS) is an aerospace company allegedly involved in discovering novel and cutting edge space technologies and contracted MUFON in 2009 to perform UFO investigations on its behalf. In the following email to the MUFON Board of Directors, I summarized my research findings and my misgivings about any further relationship with BAASS.

Note that this email has been modified to remove identifying information about the confidential source here called Brad Newton who is still under a non-disclosure agreement from his work with the now defunct National Institute for Discovery Sciences (NIDS), also an organization founded by Robert Bigelow.

CONFIDENTIAL – DO NOT FORWARD – FOR MUFON BOARD ONLY – HIGHLY SENSITIVE

Gentlemen,

Since taking on the MUFON International Director position, I have been in observation mode trying to understand the true nature of the UFO phenomenon. In 2007 I personally financed a “meeting of the minds” in Fort Collins to try and gain insight into what the status quo was in Ufology. I have personally investigated high level cases such as Kinross and the California Drones and have found myself on the receiving end of a constant flow of disinformation. What I have observed over the last three years seriously disturbs me.

It is my belief that there are forces at work here that “manage” Ufology for their own purposes. When an organization like MUFON starts to operate outside of the box “they” intend to keep us in, then these controlling forces move in to tighten their grip. Case in point is MUFON’s relationship with BAASS. Although John (Schuessler) knows who BAASS’ sponsors are, I am no longer comfortable with the MUFON-BAASS relationship. Let me explain in detail.

Just last month, I financed my own trip to Utah with Dr. Frank Salisbury who was looking to republish his book “The Utah UFO Display” and was looking for new material to add. Since the book covered the Uintah Basin in North East Utah where the Bigelow Skinwalker Ranch is located, Salisbury sought and was denied access to the Ranch. I also asked and was denied access. Instead, we spent our time interviewing new witnesses around the Ranch. Our contact person was Brad Newton (real name withheld) who has researched the area for many years. What I learned from Brad is what has led to the doubts I now harbor.

Brad worked with NIDS on the ranch and mentioned that after an alleged sighting, metal rods were found on the ranch that were sent to NIDS for analysis. Brad was in contact with a NIDS scientist who informed him that the rods were made from Element 115 and did not originate on earth, and that he (the scientist) had worked at Area 51 on a reverse engineering project where they had accumulated 300 pounds of this material. This in a nutshell is the Bob Lazar story.

Through Dr. Salisbury, we were able to interview the brother of the original owner of the ranch who sold it to the Shermans who subsequently sold it to Bigelow. The ranch owner’s brother was adamant that there was no UFO or strange activity on the ranch prior to the Sherman’s purchase, contrary to what was discussed in the Skinwalker Book and that he (the owner’s brother) had personally received a call from Bigelow trying to convince him otherwise. I found this to be extremely odd and disturbing. I also subsequently learned of a business relationship between Lazar and Bigelow (documented in the MUFON archives).

What I see in the MUFON-BAASS relationship is active management of MUFON’s work, despite assurances from BAASS otherwise. By carefully controlling the purse strings with each contract evaluation period, they are ensuring they receive a constant flow of information from MUFON while also making sure that MUFON does not end up with operational funding to stabilize its long term financial well being. Who’s on the receiving end of this information? Since that will not be disclosed to MUFON, I cannot state for sure, but I don’t feel confident that the information is being used for what MUFON was originally informed.

If you were able to listen to my speech at the Symposium or read my paper in the Proceedings or read my blog, then you know where I stand on the active management and control of information on the part of governmental or quasi governmental forces in our work. Conspiracy theory? Yes. Plausible? Yes.

MUFON has an obligation to the public to fulfill its mission. I for one believe that we cannot adequately do so as long as we are actively managed, nor can I in good faith stand by while this is happening. Those are my personal feeling however and as such I don’t want to speak for the organization when making the decision to renew or terminate our contract with BAASS. I leave it to the Board for a decision on this.

I have already stated my decision to step down as the International Director, and in large part my decision has been based on my research. I will continue to work within MUFON and for MUFON’s long term viability, but I will not stand by and be managed. My time will be better spent actively uncovering the trail left by the forces of disinformation and my efforts focused on uncovering the truth. In the end that is all that is important.

Sincerely,

James

John Schuessler responded with the following email:

James,

I am concerned for you if you are basing decisions on what Brad has said. It is not my intent to argue the point, but the whole Element 115 thing is pure bunk. Don't take my word for it, just ask any scientist. Both CSICOP scientists and MUFON scientists like Stanton Friedman have thoroughly debunked Lazar's Element 115 story. If you could get Element 115 (or Elements 114 and 116) to be stable enough to make them into rods, they would make extremely heavy rods. I can find no one except Bob Lazar and now Brad that believes there are Element 115 rods anywhere, let alone dumping them out on the ground in an uncontrolled environment on a ranch in Utah.

As for the rods found on the Skinwalker Ranch, I was on the NIDS Scientific Advisory Board back in those days and can verify that rods were found. They were not heavy Element 115 rods. Instead, they were thin carbon rods that are used in arc lamps to make very bright lights in field operations. I have personally used this type of rods in arc lamp operations many years ago.

John

My email response to John follows:

Hi John,

That is my point exactly. Lazar and element 115 are bunk but it appears to me that the NIDS scientist was promoting it to Brad. Why? I found Brad to be honest in his demeanor and he is held in high esteem by everyone we came into contact with including many of the witnesses we interviewed. Brad has no motive for promoting the Bob Lazar story but it was communicated to him nonetheless.

Actually, it was the former ranch owner’s brother’s assertions that cemented for me that something is amiss. The Skinwalker ranch story did not play out as described in the book and that coupled with us being denied access does not add up for me.

I can only conclude that BAASS is at someone else’s beck and call. The Board does not need to agree with me on this, which is why I am leaving the contract renewal response to the Board.

Best wishes,

James

It was after this email exchange that the MUFON Board bypassed me as acting MUFON International Director and secretly engaged BAASS in renegotiating the MUFON-BAASS contract while purposely keeping me out of the loop. As you can see from the email exchange, this secretive communication was altogether unnecessary because I deferred to the majority decision of the MUFON Board.

Unethical behavior on the part of the MUFON Board aside, the following questions still beg for answers: What is really happening at the Skinwalker Ranch and why are serious investigators being denied access? Why was a NIDS scientist pushing the Bob Lazar story which is a known farce? Why does the book “Hunt for the Skinwalker” describe paranormal activity present on the ranch prior to the Shermans purchasing it when a close surviving relative of the former owner denies such activity? Why is the truth about activities on the ranch being censored through non-disclosure agreements?

It appears that once again in Ufology there are more questions than answers; common fare for a field where the waters are muddied but never cleared. If you consider yourself a truth seeker then perhaps it is time to take a stand against these forces of ambiguity that seek only to obscure the truth rather than bring it to light. It is time to promote truth and not mystery in a field that has too many mysteries already. It is time to reveal the truth by not compromising ethics or principles or by allowing truth to be censored. It is time to stop falling prey to fear and lies but instead to hunt the Skinwalker forces of deception in their own territory. Who is up for a hunting trip?

MUFON Over Board - Save Our Ship

2011-02-06T12:58:00.015-07:00

After listening to MUFON International Director Clifford Clift’s interview on the Jerry Pippin show titled “MUFON Under Siege”, I was floored by Cliff’s statement that MUFON has an ethics committee. Apparently this committee investigated one of the MUFON State Directors that was recently fired from their position. Seriously? MUFON has an ethics committee? After what I have witnessed as blatant unethical behavior on the part of the MUFON Board over the last two years, I am astounded by its hypocrisy!

The MUFON Ethics Committee needs to turn its sights on its own Board of Directors whose actions during the MUFON-BAASS contract renewal periods were not only unethical but an outright derelict of duty by failing to properly represent the interests of MUFON’s members and the general public that MUFON serves as a non-profit organization.

Imagine for a minute that you are hired by a company and in your employment contract you are guaranteed a certain salary. Now imagine that as a condition of your employment, you are asked by your employer to keep detailed records on how you spend that salary. After five months on the job, the employer calls you into their office and states that your salary is going to be cut in half because your monthly spending reports show you are banking half of your salary. Further the employer states that placing half of your salary in savings was not in the “spirit” of your employment contract.

Sound outrageous? Absolutely! Yet, that is exactly what happened to the MUFON-BAASS contract. In a contract renewal letter dated June 25, 2009, Mr. Robert Bigelow stated that BAASS would cut MUFON’s monthly contract payment in half because “the accumulation of large sums of unspent money was not in the spirit of the BAASS-MUFON purchase agreement.”

Incredibly, the majority of the Board of Directors sheepishly went along with Mr. Bigelow’s demands. Their comments justifying their positions were interesting. Tom Deuley, MUFON Board member said that in his experience doing business in China, change of contract terms was common. Clifford Clift agreed with Tom’s assessment claiming similar experience in real estate.

What is wrong with these statements? First, this isn’t China and second MUFON already had a signed and legally binding straightforward purchase agreement. Yet, these Board members believed it was OK to change the contract terms five months after the deal was signed and sealed. When I mentioned this to an attorney friend of mine, her response echoed my assessment. “It doesn’t matter whether it was Robert Bigelow or Joe the Plumber signing the contract, BAASS had a legal contractual obligation to fulfill the terms of the contract or MUFON could have not only terminated the contract but sought damages.”

Before MUFON entered in to a contractual relationship with BAASS, I had a one on one telephone conference call with Mr. Bigelow and I specifically asked him about money left over at the end of each contract month that had not been spent on project expenses for that month. Mr. Bigelow stated in no uncertain terms that the money belonged to MUFON. When June 2009 rolled around, Mr. Bigelow evidently had a change of heart and not only demanded a reduction in the monthly contract amount but then at the second renewal period in October 2009, simply stopped sending project checks altogether. Mr. Bigelow further demanded that MUFON pay for ongoing project expenses from the funds left over in the bank. The end result of all of MUFON’s efforts when the project was terminated in January 2010 was zero dollars in MUFON’s project bank account.

Even before I resigned from MUFON, rumors were spreading around the organization and the Internet that I had embezzled money from MUFON and from BAASS funds. The truth is that I had not taken one dollar from either fund as confirmed by an independent CPA audit of the MUFON and BAASS books. Further, I had donated my $30,000.00 salary that I was authorized to draw from the BAASS project back to MUFON. BAASS suspected wrong doing before this independent audit, probably based upon the spreading rumors and demanded that MUFON Board member Jan Harzan turn over both sets of books to BAASS auditors.

Now, let’s examine this second incredible lapse of ethical judgment on behalf of the MUFON Board. They secretly turned over the financial books of a non-profit organization to a for-profit organization which had no right to audit MUFON’s accounts. Conveniently BAASS subsequently found clerical mistakes that it used to justify reneging on its contractual obligations under the law.

It was also around this time that the MUFON Board of Directors entered into secret negotiations with BAASS for renewing the contract, promising BAASS “complete transparency” while hiding their actions from me while I was still acting International Director.

In 2008, MUFON suffered a financial loss at its annual symposium in San Jose, California and I personally made up for the shortfall with $14,000.00 of my own funds. During the MUFON-BAASS project, the MUFON Board directed me to reimburse myself the $14,000.00 from BAASS project funds! I did not for two reasons. First this would have been a misuse of BAASS funds and secondly I had already paid income taxes on the $14,000.00 MUFON owed me and the only way to hide these payments from BAASS auditors was to show it as salaried income.

Later on after I resigned from MUFON, Clifford Clift in an email to me alluded that failing to reimburse myself from BAASS funds was insubordinate behavior against the MUFON Board. In other words I was disobeying the Board by not using BAASS project funds to cover MUFON’s shortfall. Just months earlier Clifford Clift when responding to BAASS inquiries into the rumored financial improprieties told BAASS that the MUFON Board was sorry for providing poor oversight of how I administered the BAASS project. Clifford conveniently forgot to mention the Board’s directive to me to draw funds from the BAASS account to pay for non-project expenses. The hypocrisy of this Board appears to have no bounds. MUFON finally paid me the money I lent the organization but only after I had my attorney intervene and threaten legal action.

All of these allegations of unethical behavior I make against the MUFON Board I can back up with detailed memos, MUFON Board meeting minutes, letters and emails. I dedicated ten years and thousands of hours to MUFON as an unpaid volunteer and almost four years as a salaried International Director. I worked hard to professionalize its investigative force and to fulfill its mission to the public.The people within the ranks of MUFON are good people who also volunteer their time and own financial resources to meet MUFON's goals. I still believe that the mission statement of MUFON is sound if rigidly adhered to and not compromised for the almighty dollar.

I don't wish MUFON to cease operation or to fade away, but an organization is only as sound as its ethical and moral compass. Once that compass is broken, it is a ship drifting aimlessly. The actions of this current MUFON Board are grossly negligent and unethical and if allowed to continue unchallenged will sink MUFON as an organization. The Board should be held accountable for its past actions. Setting an ethics committee on MUFON members while taking a blind eye to its own unethical behavior is what makes this MUFON Board destructive and toxic to MUFON. Perhaps the MUFON Board needs to be reminded of who it really serves as a non-profit. Hint, it is not a for-profit organization.

How to take down a UFO Organization 101

2011-02-03T12:26:00.005-07:00

I have written before about the coming war between the Intelligence Agencies and Ufology and a series of recent events lead me to believe that this war which started some time ago is now in full battle.

You see, these intelligence agencies are absolutely obsessed with control and when an intelligence source like MUFON acts outside of the box the intelligence agencies would like to contain it in, then the gloves come off and the punches fly.

MUFON – an intelligence source? Yep, that is exactly how the US Air Force Office of Special Investigation (AFOSI) and other related three letter agency see any UFO organization that collects detailed data on strange things flying around our atmosphere. Of course, AFOSI knows what’s operating in US Air Space, but they want to control what data reaches say the Russians and the Chinese about what is flying around. AFOSI prefers that the general public think of it as a “UFO” and not the latest US stealth fighter or bomber, but of greater concern is what our less than believing and less than glazed eye enemy intelligence analysts glean from the published sighting data.

Recently, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates warned of the unanticipated advances in Chinese stealth technology that led to the development of the J-20 stealth fighter. Did the Chinese develop this technology of their own accord or did they “borrow” it through espionage and gleaning open intelligence sources. Regardless of how they did it, clamping down on any intelligence source foreign enemies can exploit is what keeps the AFOSI in business.

If an intelligence source cannot be contained, then the next logical action is to terminate it, the same way NICAP was, once it outlived its usefulness to those in the know and in control. MUFON has been around for 40 plus years and to bring down an established grass roots organization requires much more finesse with proven destabilization techniques and tools. Let me share some of those with you.

Tool # 1: Agent Provocateurs

An Agent Provocateur per Wikipedia’s definition is a person employed by the police or other entity to act undercover to entice or provoke another person to commit an illegal act. More generally, the term may refer to a person or group that seeks to discredit or harm another by provoking them to commit a wrong or rash action.

When I was the International Director of MUFON, a MUFON member who recently joined approached me with the alleged criminal record of a MUFON State Director. It was suggested that I use the criminal record information as grounds for removing the State Director. I did not.

Subsequently this State Director became very vocal and critical of anything that I did at MUFON beginning with his criticism of the Discovery Channel show “UFOs Over Earth” that I was involved in. He started a long and tireless campaign of spreading false information and inciting others within MUFON to action.

Then this State Director’s criminal record was released to other MUFON members from an anonymous email address (perpetrator now known) which unleashed another endless tirade of accusations against myself and the MUFON Board.

Now you are probably wondering where I am going with this? Consider for a moment that the new MUFON member who gave me a copy of the criminal record, the alleged State Director victim and the perpetrator of the anonymous email are all on the same intelligence agency payroll and you can get an idea of how a defamation and smear campaign works. Agent provocateurs can be very effective in inciting unrest inside of an organization. I think many in MUFON can put names to the characters. I will reveal their names in due time.

Does this sound paranoid to you? Maybe, but in the shadowy world of spies and counter-spies where a country’s national security is at stake, you best put your paranoid hat on, because anything is fair game.

Tool # 2: Rumor and Innuendo

Internet message boards like the Open Minds Forum, Above Top Secret and even MUFON’s own original message board (RIP) which are based on public postings from anonymous individuals are an excellent medium for keeping smear campaigns going. I have already posted many articles on my blog about the disinformation tactics used on these boards and the dangers of anonymity. Critical minds can normally read between the lines, but many do not.

Despite the dangers these open media sources pose for the truth, it was still a very bad idea for the new MUFON International Director to trash MUFON’s original board in favor of one that does not allow divergence of opinion or is too heavily moderated. Now the anonymous intelligence agency thugs active on the remaining boards can point to this as evidence of an organization that is more interested in its own image rather than in promoting open discourse and truth.

Of course the intelligence agencies like to have multiple data streams to push their message, so UFO email lists are also used to reinforce the intended message.

Tool # 3: Human Nature

It is human nature to become defensive when attacked especially if you feel you are outnumbered. Which defenses you mount will tell whether you repel the attack or are overrun. Sometimes the agencies will simply exploit ego or leadership style to ensure an intended result.

Clifford Clift has done an incredibly good job of causing dissent within MUFON’s ranks by firing productive State Directors, taking an authoritarian bureaucratic stance on managing MUFON's image at the expense of the truth, and is leading MUFON into dangerous waters by plotting a course that started with his actions trying to preserve the MUFON-BAASS relationship.

A petition to the MUFON Board of Directors is currently circulating the MUFON membership and across the Internet demanding changes within the MUFON Board. The ranks of MUFON are not happy.

Tool # 4: Person of Influence

A strategically placed individual on the MUFON Board can reinforce rumor and innuendo that organizational collapse is imminent, that the peasants are rising in revolt and that additional severe (but counterproductive) methods should be used to regain control. It is at this point that the organization is in most danger of sinking because without an ethical and moral compass, it is now floating aimlessly.

After I resigned from MUFON, I discovered that someone on the MUFON Board was leaking emails intended only for Board Members to an outside third party. Someone on the Board (perhaps the strategically placed individual) accused me of hijacking Board Member computers and being the source of the leak. The MUFON Board would rather believe that their computers were hijacked rather than consider that there is an inside mole.

End Game

If the MUFON Board and those critical minds within the organization can’t put up the proper defenses to the current Intelligence Agencies’ onslaught, in the end, yet another UFO organization will bite the dust, nothing but a page in the long and troubled history of the UFO conundrum. Perhaps another will rise to take its place and this time the watchers and handlers will take even greater care in ensuring its control. End game – Ufology loses, Intelligence Agencies win.

Strange Bedfellows

2011-01-31T13:56:00.009-07:00

Remember when it was just a conspiracy theory that the CIA wanted the Mafia to assassinate Fidel Castro? That was until the conspiracy became reality after the CIA released its own lurid documentation on the Mafia recruitment effort.

One day, maybe not too far in the future, we will look back at the conspiracies surrounding UFOs and find out that they too are revealed as realities. Of course, disclosure has been promised many times by those allegedly “in the know”. Hell, the folks in Exopolitics predict Disclosure as imminent every chance they get, and then come up with the most ridiculous of excuses for why it is denied to the citizens of the world when their ill issued predictions go up in smoke.

But this article is not about true UFO Disclosure. It is about the strange bedfellows that Ufologists seem to keep in their alleged pursuit of truth. You see, when you climb high enough up the ladder of Ufology and are prominent in the field; the strangest of characters approach you with promises of “disclosure”. Normally, the ruse goes something like this. Approach subject Ufologist and make claims that you are in the know. Then shower said Ufologist with feelings of “eliteness” by offering them an inside look at the truth. When they take the bait, deny them the information promised, but keep them on a string with promises of information that will slowly be revealed in good measure and time.

Now you are probably wondering, when I was the International Director of MUFON, did this ever happen to me? Actually it didn’t, but then again I made it public knowledge that I would not accept inside sources who were not willing to go public with their identity and their claims. So I was not willing to play the game to begin with and those who refuse to dance are never asked to.

Speaking of strange relationships, in 2009, billionaire entrepeneur Robert Bigelow decided to hire MUFON to conduct UFO investigations on behalf of his new venture, BAASS, an alleged aerospace company interested in discovering and exploiting novel and cutting edge technologies that relate to space travel.

Well what is so unusual about that? Maybe it has to do with the following interesting facts:

· John Schuessler, MUFON Board Member and former International Director was offered a U.S. government security clearance allegedly related to his consulting work for Mr. Bigelow. Now whether John was actually given that clearance, I can’t say for sure, but I was one of the people interviewed as part of his background investigation.

· Mr. Bigelow did not fund MUFON’s work for BAASS, instead “sponsors” that Bigelow revealed to John Schuessler but not to the other MUFON Board Members put up the money.

· Mr. Bigelow invalidated his own legal contract with MUFON by refusing to abide by the original deal struck with MUFON and instead changed the terms mid-stream, something the MUFON Board of Directors acquiesced to despite my protests.

· During the project, MUFON provided both historical MUFON files as well as current MUFON case files (including witness information) to BAASS. To cover MUFON legally, the MUFON UFO reporting form was modified to collect the witness’ permission to offer their sighting data to a third party, the only third party being BAASS.

· When I uncovered some very damaging information about the Skinwalker Ranch (also owned by Mr. Bigelow) and provided that information to the MUFON Board along with my doubts about the true agenda of the BAASS-MUFON relationship, the MUFON Board unethically bypassed me and communicated in secret with BAASS in an attempt to continue the project. When I found out about this unethical behavior, initiated by my former friend and current International Director Clifford Clift and MUFON Board member Jan Harzan (probably the next International Director after Cliff retires), I resigned immediately from the MUFON Board and the International Director position.

· Rather than reveal the truth of why I resigned to the MUFON membership, Cliff decided to whitewash the unfortunate events while he swept his broom around MUFON, portraying me as an inept leader who brought MUFON to financial ruin and presenting himself as the savior of the organization. His betrayal stung me to my very core, as I considered him a friend for fourteen years until he revealed who he truly was. At the 2010 MUFON Symposium he told the MUFON State Directors that I left MUFON because the “truth” I was seeking was not the same “truth” the MUFON Board of Directors sought.

So for the leading UFO organization in the world, whose mission statement is the scientific investigation of UFOs, what truth is Mr. Clift alluding to? Maybe it is the sad truth that without a wealthy benefactor behind MUFON, the organization is but an army of volunteers with no funding for their scientific investigation, and if staying within the good graces of the only willing benefactor means compromising ethics and the duties and obligations a non-profit organization has to its membership and to the public, then so be it. I suggest that the MUFON membership deserves more from their leadership.

In fact, every MUFON member should take Mr. Clift up on his promises of transparency and demand answers to the following questions which should be posed to the MUFON Board of Directors:

1. Does John Schuessler currently have an active government security clearance and for what reason was it granted? What is John’s current relationship to BAASS and Mr. Bigelow?

2. Does MUFON still provide current UFO reports to BAASS? If not, then why is the 3^rd party witness election still on MUFON’s “Report a UFO” form on the MUFON web site?

3. Is the MUFON Board of Directors willing to give an accurate history including publicly releasing all supporting documentation of the MUFON-BAASS legal contract that encompasses the entire project period?

4. What is MUFON’s current relationship to BAASS and Mr. Bigelow?

The MUFON Board of Directors may be in pursuit of their own truth, but the real truth has an odd way of surfacing even after many years, as the CIA-Mafia affair shows. How can those in the field of Ufology seek disclosure from outside if they are not willing to seek disclosure from within first? The choices made by the MUFON Board during the MUFON-BAASS project demands complete openness and transparency so that the conspiracy theory behind the MUFON-BAASS relationship is put to rest. MUFON’s leadership should practice what it preaches and leave no details hidden if it wishes MUFON to retain any semblance of respectability in this field already filled with enough unanswered questions and shadowy characters and organizations. It is time for MUFON to sweep its own house clean.

WikiLeaks - Tis the Season to be Suspicious

2010-11-30T10:52:00.006-07:00

I read with much interest the headlines from around the world this week on the release of secret US Diplomatic documents through the WikiLeaks website. I noticed parallels between WikiLeaks tactics and the information warfare practiced on the gullible UFO community by shadowy groups of the US Intelligence community.

Conspiracy Theory

Before I explain my reasoning for why WikiLeaks should be suspect, let me first discuss something that has been simmering in the back of my mind for awhile and that I feel a need to address.

It seems that talking about the intelligence community’s unacknowledged involvement in the UFO community, their creation of the UFO myth and their continued promotion of UFO stories is immediately labeled by believers and debunkers alike as conspiracy theory. The believers see any thoughts along these lines as just another layer added to the onion of some concerted government cover up, in other words, it is a conspiracy but one that hides a greater conspiracy of alien visitation. The debunking community on the other hand without giving any rational and sober thought at all to the possibilities; labels the notion of intelligence agency manipulation of the UFO community as just pure fantasy and chuck it into their grey basket which is really “I can’t get off my ass and be bothered” basket.

Now let me propose a radical idea. Conspiracy theory used as an end in and of itself for the express purpose of providing plausible deniability. In other words the more conspiracies that promulgate and circulate the zeitgeist, the less likely that sober critical minds will be willing to examine what sounds like another. This provides the perfect cover for any intelligence agency operation.

So for example, if you want to draw attention from what is really happening at places like Groom Lake, Nevada, wrap it in a conspiracy - one with a big alien green bow, and place it under the Christmas tree of gullible UFO believers. They will wake up early Christmas morning and eagerly tear off the wrapping to find a box that looks alien, but if they bothered to open their glazed eyes and look further, they would find another box inside that is entirely too human. Better yet, send the same present to the Grinch debunking community and they will throw the whole package into the trash, wrapping and all, not bothering to consider what treasure lies truly inside.

On the spectrum of UFO belief, believers find themselves on one extreme and debunkers on the other. The sobering middle however is made up of the skeptical few whose arguments are normally drowned out by the masses on either end or by those like the media who either ignore the subject all together or it serves as their entertainment muse. It is a win-win for Black Project private industry and their intelligence agency compatriots as they achieve their objective of keeping the nosey citizenry and the media from examining their activities a little too closely.

I have been discussing on this blog over the last year my belief that the intelligence community is practicing information warfare on the proving grounds of Ufology before they wield these weapons in the real world. I have pointed out how information message boards like The Open Minds Forum, run by a shadowy group of figures is pushing the latest UFO myth, using disinformation techniques to quash dissent while experimenting with opinion manipulation in the microcosm of Ufology.

Now to the parallels with WikiLeaks.

1. WikiLeaks has a known front man but the rest of the governing team is as shadowy as the intelligence agencies they claim to oppose. See what happened when I questioned the backgrounds of the Open Minds Forum leaders in my blog article: Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing. Interesting that those who promote transparency the most are the ones least likely to serve it up themselves while they hide behind a cloak of anonymity and claimed persecution.

2. WikiLeaks relies on whistelblowers with alleged altruistic reasoning for their whistleblowing. Sure you can put up a straw man suspect like PFC Bradley Manning to blame the leak on but he doesn’t account for all of the leaked documents.

Whistleblowers are old hat to the UFO community where shadowy figures pop out of the woodwork periodically to release another bombshell disclosure about alien visitation and government cover up. The only problem is that their claims can never really be substantiated. See my blog article: Whistleblowers, Whose Horn are they tooting?

WikiLeaks has released a deluge of documents that on the surface appear to be damaging but are as a whole innocuous. They appear to seek credibility in the wider community but don’t appear to have a specific agenda other than to manipulate public opinion.

Let me play Devil’s advocate for a second and examine why an Intelligence Agency would be behind WikiLeaks:

1. WikiLeaks has recently achieved a level of credibility in the world media. Future leaked documents to the site could be used for disinformation purposes or for opinion manipulation.

2. True whistleblowers who believe they are posting anonymously to the site and are confident that WikiLeaks will protect their identity are unaware that WikiLeaks is actually providing this information to their intelligence agency backers. Closed loop counterintelligence.

3. Any intelligence agency connection to WikiLeaks will be labeled as a conspiracy theory and believed by the believer, tossed by the debunker and drowned out in the middle including in the press. Conspiracy theory conveniently has plausible deniability built-in.

The Internet Matrix has proven to be a valuable tool in the new paradigm of winning hearts and minds whether those of foreign governments or one's own citizens. Infiltrating trade unions, dissent groups, or political parties, or organizing protests and demonstrations in foreign countries to swing elections is old school when you can wield the power of the Internet to manipulate world opinions and the media. Sounds like a conspiracy? It is and tis the season to be suspicious. The present left this year by WikiLeaks under the tree of world opinion may look nicely wrapped and glittery all over but it reeks of information control by those with intentions as black as coal.

The Fishing is Always Better in Texas

2010-07-15T10:46:00.007-06:00

by James Carrion, Center for UFO Truth

July 12, 2010

While doing some historical research on the Roswell incident, I came across an interesting tidbit that piqued my curiosity and although mentioned on various Roswell websites has not been explored in depth. It centers on the curious case of Louis E. Starr of Portland, Oregon, the National Commander of the Veteran of Foreign Wars (VFW) organization and his comments about flying saucers.

The timeframe involved is July 3-6, 1947 and the location is Columbus, Ohio. VFW is holding its 27^th annual encampment and Starr, an outspoken personality who was often critical of the Truman administration, is quoted by news reporters on Saturday, July 5, 1947 stating that “too little is being told to the people of this country” and that he was expecting a telegram (source not revealed) from Washington on “the fleets of flying saucers.” He added that “when I get the information, I will make a public announcement of as much is as consistent with national security.”

Starr also stated that General Carl Spaatz had a “group right now” searching for the objects. In a separate newspaper article on July 7, 1947, Spaatz denies this:

“General Carl Spaatz, commandant of the army air forces, in the Pacific Northwest on a fishing trip, said he knew nothing about the mystery objects or of plans to use AF planes to search for them.”

Now here comes the interesting part. Most newspapers quoting Louis Starr only mention that the expected mystery solving telegram would come from Washington, but three different newspapers added the following to his quote:

“The VFW commander said he might not be able to ‘expedite’ the message since it ‘is Saturday night and everybody in Washington has gone home.’ He added, however, the message he expected might come from Texas instead of from the capital.”

Now that’s an interesting tidbit – “might come from Texas.” As the reporters anxiously wait to see what Starr’s mystery telegram will reveal, their hopes are dashed the very next day on Sunday, July 6, 1947 when Starr clams up and refuses to talk.

“Louis E Starr, national commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars who promised an explanation of the flying saucers today intimated that he may have said too much already. Today he replied to numerous questions from newsmen with a flat ‘no comment’ and said: ‘I have had no comment to make since Saturday when I inadvisably said as much as I did.’"

How interesting that Starr starts off as the champion of the people by being critical of the Government’s silence on flying saucers, promises to release what he learns from his anonymous inside source and then backtracks on that promise the very next day.

What did he say that revealed too much? Well let’s examine each of his quoted statements:

1. Too little is being told to the people of this country.

2. He was expecting a telegram from Washington.

3. The message might come from Texas instead of the capital.

4. Carl Spaatz had a group out looking for the objects.

5. He would make a public announcement of as much is as consistent with national security.

So which of these quotes was too much information? Well according to Spaatz, Starr spoke out of turn about the Army Air Force searching for the objects so Starr could possibly have been reprimanded by the Air Force brass. The only other quote that seems unusual here is the expected telegram possibly coming from Texas instead of Washington.

Which brings up the following interesting questions:

1. How did Louis E. Starr know on July 5, 1947 that the telegram he was expecting could come either from Washington or Texas?

2. Who was Starr’s mystery source and why was this source potentially sending the communiqué from either location?

3. Why from Texas? Is it just a coincidence that the Ramey deflation of the disc story occurred from Fort Worth?

4. Who was Starr’s source of information on Spaatz sending out a search group?

5. How did news reporters get Spaatz’s quote if he was off fishing in the Pacific Northwest and why does the fishing story conflict with other newspaper reports?

If we examine the Roswell incident timeline, allegedly the Army Air Force did not know about the Roswell debris until July 6, 1947 when Sherriff George Wilcox informed Roswell Army Air Field of what Mac Brazel found on the Foster Ranch. The Haut press release was sent on July 8, 1947. The “debris” was flown to Fort Worth, Texas and the infamous weather balloon paraded by Ramey, Dubose and Marcel in front of the press in time to hit the presses on July 9, 1947.

Until further research can be done into Louis E. Starr’s known sources in Washington and Texas, the fact that the state of Texas is mentioned at all could be due to one of three possibilities:

1. An unrelated detail. The source was mobile between Washington and Texas. One high ranking Army Air Force officer that was moving between Texas and Washington was General Hoyt Vandenberg who spent July 4, 1947 in Wichita Falls, Texas and then returned to Washington on July 5, 1947.

2. An anachronism if the Texas connection is related to General Ramey’s office as Ramey allegedly did not know about the debris until two days later.

3. You fill in the blank.

As for Spaatz fishing trip, according to Stanton Friedman’s website, Stanton states: “I was able to show via Spaatz’s flight log, his desk calendar, and a newspaper article, that he was fishing in Port Aransas, Texas, several hundred miles away” on July 7, 1947.” In the MUFON 2000 Symposium Proceeding, Stanton elaborates:

"One (leaked document) states unambiguously that there was a secret meeting between General Twining and USAF General Carl Spaatz on July 7, 1947, at Alamogordo Army Air Field. Twining was certainly in the neighborhood, as I had reported in Ref. 6, but was Spaatz? During a trip to the Library of Congress Manuscript Division, I once again went through General Spaatz's papers and discovered his flight log in the back of a recently declassified box, along with his desk calendar. Thanks to the help of Don Berliner who performed a similar task (decoding the old airport symbols) for General Twining's flight log, we know that Spaatz flew from Seattle, WA, with several stops, to Corpus Christi, Texas, just west of Port Aransas a well known fishing spot in the Gulf of Mexico. His desk calendar says for July 7 "Fishing at Port Aransas." I contacted the Corpus Christi newspaper which did some research for me and sent a clipping showing one of Spaatz's fishing buddies with two large fish caught that week at Port Aransas...600 miles East of Alamogordo. Spaatz had his own B-17. I am told that rarely are flight logs faked as to stops made. Twining's wasn't, based on comparisons with his pilot's flight log, newspaper coverage, etc."

However this conflicts with a July 11, 1947, Page 11 Corpus Christi Times newspaper article that places Spaatz and his party on July 10, 1947 in Corpus Christi on their way to Port Aransas for fishing.

The July 10, 1947 Corpus Christi Times elaborates that:

“ Air Force Visitors

General Carl Spaatz, Chief of the Army Air Forces, Washington, D. C., spent the first of the week in this section, and was the guest of Col, and Mrs. D. Harold Byrd at the Heart o' the Hills Inn. Other guests included Major General and Mrs. Fred Anderson, also of Washington, General Anderson being a member of General Spaatz' staff. Col. George Stone, Wing Commander of the Ohio Civil Air Patrol, and Mrs. Stone, were included in the party.

General Spaatz made the trip from Randolph Field to Kerrville in a B-17, landing at the Louis Schreiner Municipal Airport “

The July 11, 1947 Corpus Christi times added:

“PORT ARANSAS—Gen. Carl A. Spaatz and his party of seven left the Port. Aransas Boat Basin in four boats this morning to go sail fishing in the Gulf. They were to go out about 18 miles and be gone all day, Henry Studemann, manager of the basin, said.

Prospects for sailfish were good as the Gulf this morning was calm. General Spaatz, and Col. D. Harold Byrd, whose plane was used to fly the party to Corpus Christi, went out in a boat named Popcorn 11, and run by Gerald Curry.

General Spaatz is to leave Sunday afternoon.”

Which in turn conflicts with the July 7^th issue of the Charleston Gazette article that had this to say about Spaatz’s fishing trip:

“Gen. Carl H. Spaatz, commandant of the Army Air Forces, was in the Pacific Northwest. He denied knowing anything about the flying discs —or of plans to use AAF planes to look for them. ‘I've been out of touch with things for four or five days,’ he said. Then he went to Medford, Oregon, on a fishing trip.”

Which in turn conflicts with the July 7, 1947 Amarillo Daily News article that doesn’t even mention fishing, but instead:

“Gen. Carl Spaatz, Air Forces commandant, was in the Pacific Northwest, where the majority of the strange objects were reported seen. An Air Forces spokesman in Washington said he had not gone there to investigate, but merely to make a speech at Seattle and for an airfield inspection today at Tacoma.”

Which conflicts with a letter that Spaatz wrote to Dr. Vannevar Bush on July 7, 1947, as referenced in a response letter from Dr. Bush’s secretary on July 17, 1947.

Well we know that Spaatz was officially out of the office because General Hoyt Vandenbergs’s desk log shows Vandenberg attending the 12 noon War Council meeting in General Spaatz absence on July 7, 1947.

General Spaatz was in Seattle on July 4, 1947 as the guest of honor at the City’s holiday celebrations according to the Walla Walla Union Bulletin editions of July 3, 4 and 5^th.

According to newspaper reports, Spaatz was:

Test flying a new Boeing jet on July 3, 1947 in Seattle
Giving a speech at a July 4, 1947 celebration in Seattle
Inspecting an Army Air Field in Tacoma on July 7, 1947
In Corpus Christi, Texas by 5:30 PM on July 10, 1947 having arrived there from Kerrville via Randolph Field in San Antonio. Spaatz piloted his own B-17 to Kerrville and then was ferried to Corpus Christi on the private plane of Harold Byrd.
Fishing in Port Aransas, Texas from July 11 – 13, 1947

The unanswered questions are:

Where was Spaatz at after the Army Air Field inspection in Seattle on July 7 till showing up in Corpus Christi, Texas on July 10, the same time period that spans the Roswell Press release and retraction?
Why did Spaatz comment to newspaper reporters that he was out of touch for 4 or 5 days prior to July 7^th when he was evidently engaged in various official tasks and accessible to reporters?
Where did the fishing in Medford, Oregon story originate?
Why did he continue on his fishing expedition in Texas if Roswell allegedly represents a watershed event in human history?

For serious open minded researchers, the unanswered questions are within reach if you dedicate the time to searching for the answers using the tools of forensic history at your disposal. As I aim to prove that UFOs were promulgated in 1947 as a Cold War deception operation, tracking the whereabouts of those that would be “in the know” about what really happened surrounding Maury Island, Kenneth Arnold and Roswell is paramount. As newspaper articles and other corroborating documents confirm, there definitely seems to be something mighty fishy happening in Texas that first week of July, 1947.

All supporting documentation for this article can be downloaded from: http://sharepoint.centerforufotruth.org:27894/Shared%20Documents/Forms/AllItems.aspx?RootFolder=%2fShared%20Documents%2fUFO%20Events%2fRoswell%2fGeneral%20Carl%20Spaatz&FolderCTID=&View=%7b383A7664%2d8519%2d462C%2dAD6C%2d5532255CA3EF%7d

James Carrion, Center for UFO Truth

The UFO Bucket List

2010-07-02T22:41:00.006-06:00

Do you have a UFO bucket list? Are there things about UFOs you want to unequivocally know before you die? The truth about alien visitation? The truth about alien abduction? The truth about reverse engineering of alien technology?

My bucket list is really simple – I want to know the truth about three famous UFO cases – Maury Island, Kenneth Arnold’s sighting and Roswell, all occurring within the span of a single month in 1947. Why these three? Well because they all occurred around the same time that an allied top secret weapons project, on par with the atomic bomb, and possibly airborne was leaked to the news media.

Authenticated documents show that the two principal scientists involved in this alleged top secret project purposely used the media to spread disinformation about the project. Further research showed that the ‘new weapon’ was never airborne to begin with, but was part of a real top secret project that was killed off in 1945 but promoted by these scientists as active in 1947. Why? Good question.

The chronology is intriguing – Top Secret possibly airborne weapon leak first, Maury Island Incident next, then Kenneth Arnold’s sighting , and Roswell last. Seems like a lot happening within such a short period of time. Coincidence or not? Well most Ufologists seem to gloss over the compact chronology and chalk up the UFO events occurring so close together as just part of the 1947 ‘wave’ while ignoring the Top Secret weapon project data altogether.

Speaking of buckets, it seems that some of the UFO blogs out there can’t understand why my research focuses on these three pivotal UFO cases and have suggested that I am discounting the reported sightings that have occurred before and after 1947. In other words, for them the entire spectrum of UFO data must be thrown into the same bucket from which some universal explanation must be extracted. Well that is the approach Ufology has used for the last 60 plus years and which has resulted in absolutely no conclusive proof of anything.

Compartmentalizing UFO data is important to understanding the phenomenon. Rather than taking the whole bucket approach, it is essential to focus on a subset of data and time, the same way that anthropologists do when studying human history or geologists, the history of the earth. My focus is on these three cases and answering the question, were they real or contrived?

As an example of how important it is to compartmentalize data as well as examine other events surrounding them, consider the 1942 Raid over Los Angeles that many Ufologists believe to be a UFO event. Studying just what occurred on February 25, 1942 while ignoring the events that surround that day is inexcusable. Ufologists gloss over the fact that the very first attack on US soil during World War 2 occurred two days before on February 23, 1942 when a Japanese sub shelled Ellwood Oil Field near Santa Barbara, California, causing Californians to believe that a Japanese invasion was imminent. What makes more sense, an extraterrestrial craft flying over Los Angeles or unnerved gunners already expecting Japanese bombers, shooting at whatever was crossing the sky that night? Unidentified? Yes. Extraterrestrial? Unlikely. Critical minds will see the logic; believers will see what they want to see.

So if you have a UFO bucket list, then by all means, don’t let life pass you by, but start on your list. Get active and research the UFO topic of your choice. Get out of the comfort of your armchair and get to work studying what interests you about the UFO subject. But, you will never accomplish what is in your bucket list if you live by proxy through other’s research or proclamations. Compartmentalize your subject and its data because if you take the whole bucket approach, you will end up leaving your existence as puzzled as you arrived. Don’t take my word for it. Just consider the graveyard of Ufology, where so many prominent researchers have come and gone despite their passion and dedication - never getting to the truth they so desperately searched for.

Oh, yes, I have one other thing in my UFO bucket list: to sit in on congressional hearings on UFOs where those in government who have manipulated the truth and have deceived the citizens of this country are held accountable for their actions. I am working on my UFO bucket list, how about you?

Blasphemy will get you Stoned

2010-06-30T07:41:00.005-06:00

It has been interesting to read the various reactions from those inside the circus tent of Ufology to the formation of the Center for UFO Truth. It is reminiscent of the protests and admonishments I received at my presentation at the 2009 Crash Retrieval conference on “Russian Espionage and UFOs” where despite showing authenticated documented evidence to back up the statements I made, some individuals simply could not bring themselves to accept my theory as a possibility. It was also at that conference that I realized that presenting a human theory for the origin of UFOs at a UFO conference is tantamount to blasphemy.

I began to wonder what it would take to convince the circus visitors that the human deception theory was a possibility. More documentation? Better explanations? Enlisted experts? The more I thought about it, the clearer it became that NOTHING would convince someone whose mind is made up and who espouses a specific belief system.

Imagine I walked into a large Christian church on a Sunday morning and announced at the pulpit that Jesus Christ did exist, but did not resurrect from the dead because I had scientific proof – the authenticated bones of the dead Christ. The ensuing outraged uproar would be the same if I made a similar pronouncement in a Mosque about Mohammed.

Now of course there would be some critical minds already riding the fence of their own beliefs who would examine the evidence and at least consider it a possibility, but those whose beliefs are so thoroughly entrenched would not be tempted for a New York minute to even admit the evidence into their world view.

So it is no surprise that one prominent UFO journalist wondered who had let the fox in the hen house when I dared to question the sacred cow of Ufology – Roswell. How dare I as the director (at that time) of a National UFO organization question the unimpeachable event of the crash landing of an alien craft?

Even Stanton Friedman who decries the debunkers as vile for having their minds made up and being too lazy to do their own research pulled his own debunking tactic by dismissing my research and its possible connection to Roswell in an article in the January 2010 MUFON Journal. If even Stanton Friedman doesn’t have an open mind, then I fear that Ufology is doomed to choir practice and baptisms.

Now some have questioned why the focus of the Center for UFO Truth is so narrow and that trying to prove the human deception theory is itself inherently a preconceived belief. I have four words to answer that – “Show me the evidence”. In science you can propose whatever theory you would like as long as you are willing to back it up with evidence. When Copernicus proposed that the Earth was not the center of the Universe, he didn’t have to first explain celestial mechanics of the wider universe. He focused on one question – does the earth revolve around the sun or not – simple and unambiguous.

That is exactly what the Center for UFO Truth is focused on – a simple and unambiguous theory of human deception in the early days of UFOs. If CUT can unequivocally prove that United States and its allies hijacked the UFO theme for Cold War purposes and that Kenneth Arnold’s sighting and Roswell were part of this deception, through authenticated documents, rather than anecdotal evidence, then critical thinkers should take notice. If you are a staunch believer, don’t worry, CUT will not present evidence at your pulpit anyway.

Why are the early days of UFOs so important? Well it is simple - these early UFO events are the sacred cows of Ufology. If they are proven to be deceptions, then all UFO data collected to the modern day needs to examined through a different set of lenses. Critical thinkers will consider putting on a different pair of glasses. Believers will not think anything is wrong with their vision and will look the other way.

If CUT can not substantiate its theory, then it no longer remains a viable theory and can be discarded. To substantiate a theory requires hard work, and no amount of wishing it to be so, makes it a viable theory. So while CUT does its scientific homework, Ufology can continue its revival and convert as many souls as possible before CUT’s blasphemous efforts reach the ears of the unfaithful. Warning, heresy is afoot.

Announcing the Center for UFO Truth

2010-06-25T08:06:00.021-06:00

I am proud to announce the formation of The Center for UFO Truth (CUT) http://www.centerforufotruth.org.

CUT is not a UFO organization nor is it affiliated in any way with Ufology. Instead CUT is a historical research organization focused on examining the question long ignored by historians - was the UFO subject purposely created by the United States and its allies as part of a cold war operation and perpetuated to this day for national security reasons?

CUT will focus its efforts on research in official government archives, not only in the United States but all over the world, searching for authenticated official documents that can prove or disprove this theory. CUT will work closely with Cold War and Intelligence Historians and collaborate with foreign governments willing to contribute to CUT's efforts.

CUT will work outside of the three ring circus that is Ufology and will not accept the contributions of anonymous individuals or alleged whistleblowers nor will it examine alleged leaked documents.

Unfortunately,the field of Ufology has nothing to show for more than 60 years of investigation and research. By not adhering to professional evidentiary standards, Ufology will neither join the halls of academia nor will it discover what truly lies behind the subject of UFOs.

Believers will continue to believe, debunkers will continue to summarily dismiss, but the true skeptics who are willing to dig deep will be rewarded with the truth.

Altruism and Apple Pie

2010-04-17T05:38:00.006-06:00

In the UFO field where wild claims abound and the subject matter is “spooky” and challenges reality as we know it, evidentiary standards are paramount. Not only are we dealing with everyday people claiming to have extraordinary experiences but we comingle with UFO researchers, benefactors, insiders, whistle blowers, etc., all who are motivated in their own way to involve themselves in this surreal field. Their motivation can range from outright bewilderment to scientific curiosity to selfless altruism. Bewilderment and curiosity I understand. Altruism is a little trickier to establish.

While writing summaries of my investigation into the Michael Nelson Portage County UFO claims, I came across an email message where Nelson outlined his motive for reviving the 1966 case as “clearing these guys reputations (the original Portage detectives involved in the case) before they die”. How sweet. What a nice guy. It is so American and Apple pie I can’t help but feel patriotic. If it had any basis in fact that is. I could write a dissertation on Nelson who went to great lengths to weave his web of deception and which only came unraveled after I spent hundreds of hours investigating and documenting his half-truths, forgery and bold face lies.

Stan Romanek is also one of these nice guys, claiming that he is just coming forward because it is the right thing to do. “For Humanity”, I can hear him and his cult groupies chanting around him. I would be up there chanting also if any of his so called “scientific evidence” was actually released for public testing to more than just his managed circle of friends. Wanna bet this blog triggers more “friends of Romanek” staunchly supporting him while spewing righteous and indignant venom in my direction? How dare I question his claims? How can any self proclaimed truth seeker not question his claims?

And then there’s Robert Bigelow, benefactor of the paranormal, champion of space science and extraterrestrial science. What a swell guy funneling dollars into UFO research. Of course it is easy to take the altruistic philanthropist pedestal when not disclosing the true source of those dollars, giving out government security clearances to prominent UFO researchers and then hiding behind signed non-disclosure agreements. Visions of Howard Hughes begin to swim around in my mind.

But altruism so abounds in this field, I can’t forget this guy – Joseph Capp of UFO Media Matters – self proclaimed champion and advocate of the UFO witness. You see, Joe is so incredibly worried about the fragile mental state of UFO witnesses; he doesn’t care what end of the witness spectrum they are from – innocent bystander or outright charlatan. Joe's reasoning: if the witness makes a claim, we must believe them, and solid investigation must take a back seat to handling their fragile mental state. Maybe Joe should volunteer his counseling skills at the local NYPD precinct and see how welcome his soft skills would be on the police beat where everyone is innocent until proven guilty or at least caught in the act. “Sir, I am worried about your fragile mental state, now please put down the gun and give the clerk his money back and we’ll attend to your needs.” Sure for every charlatan there are many more bonafide UFO witnesses, but if you can’t separate the wheat from the chaff because you don’t have the cojones to question witness motives through solid investigation, then you are but a pawn in the charlatan’s game.

I have already written in my other blog articles why altruism doesn’t wash for me as a proper motive for UFO whistle blowers and alleged insiders, making them come up stinking instead of smelling like roses.

It is ironic that Ufology that so desperately would like to join the halls of academic “ologies” refuses to first establish what its own standards of evidence are for the subject matter it is studying. To illustrate this, here’s a link to a summary paper written by Robert Powell, MUFON Director of Research that begins with “some of the best physical evidence of a UFO landing has been uncovered in the 1966 Portage Ohio UFO Chase”. On the surface it all sounds very scientific, but when you take the time to chip away at Nelson’s claims by doing an adequate background investigation, a different much more mundane story emerges – a story based on pure and simple human deception.

Note: As a a point of clarification, I am not faulting Robert Powell's scientific methods of research but instead being critical of the lack of professional standards in Ufology. My point is that so much time and resources is spent on unnecessary analysis of this type when researchers should start with questioning human motivation first. Another example that comes to mind is a piece of metal fragment that MUFON received through Dr. Leo Sprinkle that was allegedly a piece of the 1942 Los Angeles UFO. Scientific analysis showed it to be a common fire starter - more time and resources wasted.

Goodbye Ufology, Hello Truth

2010-04-05T07:02:00.004-06:00

There comes a defining moment in everyone’s life when you must choose to lead or be led, to accept life for what it is or strive for change, however small, in favor of the common good. As I write this on Easter weekend, I contemplate the man whose life we celebrate and his impact on the world. He lead by example, was not afraid to challenge the status quo and his message was pure. What he had to offer was simple, words based on the truth, and as a person that I admire and respect, if I can be one millionth of what he was; I feel that I am on the right path.

There was a time many years ago when I was considering leaving Ufology because I couldn’t make sense of it all. Here was a subject that was still being pursued passionately by intelligent and sober folks many with advanced academic degrees, yet the solution was always out of reach. Surely there must be something to the subject with so many people working on it, I thought. The problem gnawed at me and I decided that I must discover the truth for myself even if it meant sacrificing other things in my life. In a field where wild claims are rampant, I latched on to the only organization that I felt had some reservoir of common sense and reason in its modus operandi – MUFON.

Fortunately, MUFON moved its headquarters to Denver in the year 2000 and I contacted John Schuessler, International Director at the time and offered to volunteer my services. I remember sitting in a café across from the MUFON storefront and pointedly asking John “What do you think is really going on?” His answer surprised me. “I don’t know.” Surely, after all of these years of searching and digging, there must be some answers, I thought to myself, and so I became even more intrigued.

As I stared at the rows and rows of file cabinets at MUFON headquarters, I began to wonder if the answers I sought lay inside. I proposed to the MUFON Board to digitize the paper files under what I called the “Pandora Project” and they gave me their blessing and financial backing. I spent hundreds of hours tediously cataloging the files and getting them in order for scanning and the project was completed within the span of a couple of years. I also joined the MUFON Board and helped define MUFON’s new mission statement of the scientific investigation of UFOs for the benefit of humanity.

When John was searching for a successor, I was reluctant to apply, but then I thought about the unique position this would put me in to dedicate my time to the pursuit of the truth. I took on the challenge and the next three years became a roller coaster of insight and discoveries that would change my view forever on why the truth behind UFOs is so elusive.

I also decided to take a unique approach. Poke at the phenomenon and see what pokes back. Not only look for a signal but the absence of one as well because it just as telling. In addition I made the conscious decision to forsake the “inside source”. Coupling all of this with an investigative ethic that was thorough and unrelenting, a clear picture began to emerge.

What I discovered was that the phenomenon is based in deception – of the human kind –and that there is no way ANYONE will understand the real truth unless they are willing to first accept that. No, I am not talking about some grandiose cover-up of alien visitation, but instead the documented manipulation of people and information for purposes that I can only speculate on. How do I unequivocally know this to be true? Well let me lay it out for you in laymen’s terms.

People are easily manipulated because we are all subject to the psychological pressures of ego, biased beliefs and tunnel vision. For example, those that KNOW that earth is being visited by aliens have blinders on and no amount of alternative explanation will convince them otherwise. They are the die hard in the wool believers for whom Ufology serves as a religion to confirm their beliefs that they take on faith. On the other end of the spectrum are the debunkers who must counter every claim with a reason why it can’t be so, without bothering to examine the data or lift a finger in conducting original research of their own.

Whoa! Wait a minute, what about those who don’t take things on faith and actually collect data and conduct investigation? Good question. I decided to examine the data collection and investigative practices in Ufology, and after poring over thousands of historical case files from MUFON, NICAP and APRO investigators in the MUFON archives, what I found, was inconsistent investigation with a total lack of evidentiary standards. I also found a paper trail of disinformation and misinformation that has kept Ufology in check through infighting and red herrings, rabbit holes and elaborate deception operations.

The other thing I found documented in the MUFON archives was the sad history of those UFO investigators who thought they could successfully play the “cover up game” by cultivating their inside sources only to be discredited, manipulated or ego driven to delusion. But it was after conducting six personal investigations that I began to question whether or not ANY of the data sitting in any UFO archive can be relied on.

2006 – The report by a bogus Dive Company of finding the 1953 Kinross UFO – perpetrators unknown and still at large.

2007 – Michael Nelson’s bogus claims of recovering physical evidence related to the 1966 Portage County UFO Chase. Read Nelson’s paper in the 2007 MUFON Symposium Proceedings, then tear it out as none of it is based in fact.

2007 – The California Drones story for which not a single, verifiable beyond reproach, real witness can be found.

2008 – The Stan Romanek claims which are not only unverified by science (despite what he says) but involves the shameful practice of investigators ignoring professional standards by fraternizing and becoming emotionally involved with the subject of their investigation.

2009 – Unsettling information I discovered with Dr. Frank Salisbury about the Skinwalker Ranch that calls into question the validity of experiences described in the book “Hunt for the Skinwalker”.

All of these cases have a common thread: they are based on half-truths, and outright manipulation that predictably draw in the believer but have also drawn in a number of Ufologists into their web of deception. And they all would have gotten away with it too had it not been for those meddling kids, but more about the Scooby Doo analogy later.

As I the picture became clearer, I began to be more vocal about what I had uncovered, much to the displeasure of those perpetrating the deception. At first, I limited myself to publishing my investigations in the MUFON Journal but eventually carried it over to my blog because of the increased reluctance of the MUFON Board to expose some of these perpetrators over concerns of legal liability or funding. But I could not stay silent and let yet more UFO myth be created in an already endless sea of nebulous data.

I decided to dig deeper and rather than focus on the sideshows that would pop up and distract Ufologists by leading us down yet another rabbit hole, I did original research into the early days of the phenomenon. What I found was amazing and is documented in my paper at http://scilib.ucsd.edu/sio/hist/Carrion_New%20Avenues.pdf. Realizing that to uncover more information and to prove my theory would require laser like focus and time that I did not have to spare, I made the decision to leave the MUFON International Director position and informed the MUFON Board.

Interestingly I also observed how my original research fell on deaf ears in the UFO community. When I suggested that the holy grail of Ufology, Roswell, could be part of an elaborate intelligence deception operation, not only did I encounter a wave of hostility from the “believers” but a backlash of silence, debunking and dismissal by even those “unbiased” researchers who claim to not stoop to such tactics. Rather than inspire an army of fellow investigators to dig deeper in this unexplored area I felt like Copernicus telling a room full of colleagues how the earth revolved around the sun despite everyone else believing the earth the center of the Universe. Blasphemy! Heresy!

All of this has led me to where I am at today – squarely outside of Ufology – away from the polarized beliefs, the three ring circus of sideshows and illusion acts that has created nothing but a hall of mirrors and dead ends and which has produced no definite answers despite 60 years of accumulated investigation. I feel free and alive with possibilities; being able to pursue the truth through original research and verifiable original documentation, without the constant distractions and noise.

In 1969, Project Blue Book was history and MUFON was founded. The same year, a soon to be popular TV show was started – Scooby Doo, that featured a gang of amateur sleuths solving mysteries and exposing con artists and charlatans who were then apprehended by the authorities. As the perpetrator was being led away in handcuffs, they predictably stated – “and I would have gotten away with it too if it hadn’t been for those meddling kids.” I began to wonder if the gang would have solved any mysteries if the perpetrator and authorities were one and the same. The perpetrator may get caught and exposed but once free to go, could practice their con somewhere else. That in a nutshell is the sad state of Ufology today, humans deceiving humans. If there is a real phenomenon, I have yet to see any evidence of it that would stand under scientific scrutiny. Outside of Ufology, I will pursue peeling away these layers of human deception and exposing them for what they are. If a real phenomenon lies at its core remains to be seen.

Skinwalker Ranch Update

2010-02-10T20:27:00.003-07:00

Dr. Frank Salisbury is releasing a new edition of his book "The Utah UFO Display" with updated information on activity in the Uintah Basin. Last year I had the privilege of accompanying Dr. Salisbury as he interviewed various witnesses in and around the area commonly known as the Skinwalker Ranch.

I will be releasing a complete expose of our trip there in the near future including some very shocking information that will make you wonder what is really happening in this area of Utah. Truth is stranger than fiction.

Keep posted here for updates.

Digging Away

2010-01-10T07:13:00.001-07:00

This blog post is in response to Rick Nelson’s article “Using Your Own Common Sense in UFO Investigations” posted at: http://www.theufochronicles.com/2009/12/using-your-own-common-sense-in-ufo.html.

How timely Mr. Nelson that you took the time to further elaborate on the Stan Romanek case and why we don’t see eye to eye on Stan. Case in point:

Let me quote your article if I may:

“I have found certain actions and conduct by Mr. Carrion in this matter inappropriate, unprofessional and in some instances inexcusable.”

“ There comes a point when every individual has to stand up and call a spade a spade. I’m standing up Mr. Carrion and publically saying, “Develop some healthy ethics and do the right thing or get the heck out of the way of those who are trying to.” There’s far too much at stake for humanity to let a “so-called” watchdog attack victims and contribute to UFO cover-ups. “

Let me respond in kind: I am calling a spade a spade and that same spade is digging their own hole of deception from which there is no way out. Let me quote further from your article:

“In a recent radio broadcast Mr. Carrion stated that Lisa Romanek lied about a detail of a meeting she was at with Mr. Carrion and her husband Stan. Anyone who knows Lisa has absolutely no question about her integrity and complete commitment to speak only the truth even when it is personally embarrassing, difficult or painful. To me this is not acceptable conduct by anyone’s standards and I won’t let this kind of conduct go unchallenged. I know of, and openly defend, Lisa Romanek’s honesty, intelligence, memory and integrity. “

So let’s examine some recent events that demonstrate how off kilter you are about the Romaneks. On December 28, 2009 Stan Romanek called the MUFON office asking for MUFON’s legal department. On the same day a “recorded voice” called the MUFON office asking for MUFON’s legal address so that MUFON could be served papers. On the same day, Leslie Varnicle, MUFON Colorado State Director received a voice mail from Stan Romanek also asking for MUFON’s legal department. After mulling this over, I posted on the next day, December 29, 2009, my blog article: http://followthemagicthread.blogspot.com/2009/12/romenk-threatens-lawsuit.html

Now Lisa was gracious enough to DENY that Stan even made these phone calls in her post at http://www.theufochronicles.com/2009/12/lisa-romanek-offers-up-bob-bicksler.html where she stated:

“Mr. Carrion can tell all of the BS lies he wants, I cannot stop him, but I will state Here and Now that Stan Romanek did not call and threaten a lawsuit against Carrion… I don’t know what Carrions new game is, but I think he has lost his marbles!”

So I challenged her on this by asking:

What are you denying Lisa? That Stan called the MUFON office? That Stan asked for the MUFON legal department? That Stan asked for the legal address MUFON could be served at? That Stan called Leslie Varnicle and left a voice mail with the same demands? Are you saying that someone was impersonating Stan? Are you also denying that Stan has threatened legal action against MUFON in conversations with others? State it plainly and clearly so all can understand.

Lisa’s hole-digging response:

“Stan and Leslie Varnicle are friends and have been for many years. Stan did leave Leslie a message asking her if there was a legal department in MUFON but only after your post was on the Internet! Stan and Leslie had a conversation regarding your article of a threat of a lawsuit. Stan asked her what was going on and if she knew why you would write such an article. Stan already knew that there was no such department after the disaster years ago with our MUFON investigator who kept (stole) important evidence belonging to Stan. MUFON could not take legal steps to recover the evidence for lack of such a department! I don’t see how a phone call or voice message to a friend’s personal phone asking a question can be seen by anyone as a threat to sue MUFON or you for that matter, especially after the article was posted!!”

And now the hole is 20 feet deep. Lisa admits Stan made a call asking for MUFON’s legal department, even though she denied it earlier, except now the story is twisted to make it sound like Stan did this in reaction to my blog article. Bullshit! Lie! Deception! – Is that spade enough for you Mr. Nelson? Unless Stan time travelled to December 29 to read my blog article and then back to leave his original voice mail on December 28, the Romaneks have been caught in a plain and simple bold-faced lie, all documented in writing. Are you still singing the integrity praises of Lisa Romanek?

Here’s my advice Rick – perhaps you should use the “common sense” you profess to and extricate yourself from the hole that you are sliding down into that is the Romanek saga, or perhaps you prefer to pick up the spade yourself and help dig the hole even deeper.

Stan Romanek Threatens Lawsuit

2009-12-29T06:07:00.005-07:00

Stan Romanek called the MUFON Office yesterday asking for MUFON's legal department and the street address where MUFON can be "served" papers. Unfortunately, I wasn't there to get the call.

Seems like the way you get someone to stop pointing out inconvenient facts about your claims is to threaten legal action. So Mr. Romanek, this is a message for you that I won't have to serve through the Sheriff's office or through a demand letter:

- In a court of law you can't manipulate the facts like you can in the court of public opinion
- You have to swear to tell the truth
- You have to have your claims believed by a jury of your peers, not by your friends, family, and investigators you are buddies with
- You cannot withhold key evidence

So, Stan, if you think I am going to stop pointing out the problems with your claims by threatening me with a lawsuit, you are sadly mistaken. There is nothing illegal about the truth.

Speaking of which, please feel free to post publicly the video/photo evidence that you have yet to release to the world because I have some world class photo/video experts who are dying to analyze them:

- All the ORIGINAL videos of your peeping aliens
- All the ORIGINAL photos that show you with strange "reptilian" eye transformations
- All the ORIGINAL photos/videos of all of your other otherworldly experiences

I will be happy to give you some space on my public web server to upload them and I will make them freely available to any other photo/video analyst.

Are you fallowing me?

2009-10-10T17:06:00.006-06:00

Stan Romanek recently took his story to the air waves on the Angela Joiner report to explain why the word fallow always seem to be showing up in documents related to his alleged claims of alien abduction and government conspiracy. Blogger Chuck Zukowski recently posted an article supporting Stan's claims that the word "fallow" was a commonly misspelled word and was not evidence of any impropriety in his case. Well, I guess every word in the English language is mangled and misspelled to one extent or the other, but that is not what makes this misspelled word a GIANT, IMPOSSIBLE TO IGNORE, red flag in the Romanek case. Let me spell out the problem in plain English.

The word fallow shows up in Stan's original UFO reports to the National UFO Reporting Center.
The word fallow shows up in the UFO report to the National UFO Reporting Center by a 3rd party witness that allegedly had no relationship to Stan Romanek but corroborates one of his sightings.
The word fallow shows up in an alleged Air Force document that Stan mysteriously received in his mailbox, subject "Project Romanek".
The word fallow shows up on the Jeff Rense website in an online posting by alleged physicist John Mannon who supports Stan's story.
The word fallow shows up on the Above TopSecret.com website in a posting by another alleged physicist (TommyBoy) who supports Stan's claims.

The fact that the word fallow got mispelled in any single document or online posting is not the issue but that the mispelled word shows up in so many third party documents supporting Stan's claims -third parties that allegedly have no relationship or connection with Stan. What are the odds that all of these third parties mispelled this same word (in documents supportive of Stan), is due to chance? The Romanek's don't want you to mull this over using critical thinking but would rather try to refocus your attention on the word fallow being a commonly mispelled word. I don't buy their argument and I continue to consider it a red flag until one or more of these third parties come forward and prove themselves to be real people. Will the real John Mannon please step up? Not by posting again to the anonymous Internet but showing some ID in person so you can be verified to be a real physicist.

Now I have said it before and I will say it again, if the Romaneks want to prove their claims, then they should release ALL of their alleged video and photo evidence for the world and independent researchers to examine and analyze. Instead they have tried to paint that I am on some sort of personal vendetta to discredit their claims. Taking their claims to the airwaves and the blogs with "I don't know how that word got there" and "it is really no big deal" counter arguments is not going to settle this matter. Neither is trying to portray this as MUFON vs Romanek or Carrion vs Romanek.

So critical thinkers, put on your thinking caps and weigh the evidence, and if you are a statistician, take it a step further and calculate the odds. Are you fallowing me here?

The Russians Are Coming!

2009-09-18T23:49:00.003-06:00

In the 1950s Soviet espionage was rampant as the Russians had infiltrated every aspect of American society from the White House to the State Department to the military and even the old OSS .

The Russian intelligence agencies battled it out with their western counterparts as the red scare of the 1950s set in to the American mindset. One very intriguing aspect of this spy war is that even though the FBI knew who many of these Soviet agents were, they could not be prosecuted because of how they were unmasked. You see, the Army Security Agency (predecessor to the NSA) was actively breaking the Soviet code under a top secret program knows as the Venona Project. The project decryptions helped the FBI track down and break up a number of Soviet espionage rings, but some of these spies avoided prosecution because the incriminating evidence collected was too classified to reveal in a court of law. It was better to let these spies walk away free then to risk compromising the existence of the Venona Project.

How does this apply to Ufology? Well let's consider the following hypothetical scenario: A foreign intelligence agency approaches a prominent UFO researcher and promises to finance their research in exchange for any information found, knowing that some of the data provided may actually relate to new exotic American military aircraft. Now let's say that American Counter-Intelligence is not very happy and would really like to put this prominent UFO researcher in the same jail cell as Gary McKinnon for compromising national security. How could they possibly prosecute in a court of law without revealing their interest in the UFO researcher and Ufology in general? Such is the dilemna of the intelligence agencies who use the UFO phenomenon for their own purposes. Depending on which end of the information game your side plays on, you either reap the reward or get bit in the ass. Realizing that prosecution is not a possibility, the losing player will probably opt for using the researcher as a conduit for disinformation instead, effectively making the researcher an unwitting pawn on a chess board of rival intelligence agencies.

Silly really, but the game has been played too long and the intelligence agencies are in too deep to stop now. So the game continues with each successive move of a game piece more elaborate than the previous. However there is no check mate in this game, because it has been played for more than 60 years with no winner, although it was put on hold when cold war tensions eased. With the resurgence of tense relations between Russia and the United States, the game is back in play, and Ufologists are once again faced with being manipulated as pawns in a game that is not of their choosing. While terrestrial hands exchange game pieces, the phenomenon itself flies overhead untouched and out of reach.

The Principles of Deception

2009-09-02T17:24:00.021-06:00

If there is any common thread running through the fabric of modern Ufology, from hoaxed experiences, to forged documents to the baseless distractions of modern UFO myths, it is the thread of deception. Follow it forward and it leads you to where someone else wants you to go. Follow it backwards to the source and you will most likely find a dead end. Try and avoid it and you will find it tightly interwoven with the phenomenon itself.

Why the hall of mirrors? Well if we account for the human element in all of this, we normally can narrow it down to two motivating factors, money and information control. There are those in Ufology that see the hand of monetary gain behind every UFO hoax, forged document or sideshow, while others see the sinister hand of the intelligence agencies trying to control our perceptions and beliefs.

Since both factors can be inter-played in a given scenario, maybe we should start by understanding information control first, because it is the more elaborate of the two. Con artists and charlatans have been around forever but normally are sloppy, as their goal is to make a quick buck. However, the deception weavers in the employ of an intelligence agency, wish to make up your mind (or the perceived enemy's), a task that is far more difficult than getting you to part with your money, and have only since WW2 practiced their craft with the sophistication necessary to be effective. Ufology is ripe for the picking by either flavor of liar but those that practice the craft of information control have the upper hand, and probably employ on occassion the common con artist and charlatan to assist in their exploitation.

While doing some research for a MUFON sponsored workshop in 2007, I found a very interesting document titled the Principles of Deception. I was enthralled with its message because it discusses a proven formula for information control. The seven principles for effective deception are:

Control all key channels of information
Good Intelligence “feedback” on deception operations
High-level and centralized control over deception planning
Practice sound deception techniques
Subordinate deception to strategic and operational objectives
Maintain adequate secrecy
Provide sufficient time for deception execution

The interesting thing about these principles is that they can be applied to any operation large or small with the same effectiveness. So regardless if the deception operation is to cover up extraterrestrial visitation or to cover up exotic new stealth aircraft, the same seven principles can be employed. By keeping these principles in mind, you essentially put yourself in the shoes of the deceiver, and can attempt to reverse engineer the deception based on your observations.

Atomic Bomb scientist and maligned UFO researcher Leon Davidson, for example, believed that the CIA was behind most of the UFO sightings of the 1940s and 1950s, an unpopular viewpoint in Ufology in those days. However, if the principles of deception were being employed from the very beginning of a cover-up, what does that say about where Ufology was focusing its efforts? In other words, for deception to be effectively perpetrated, the deceivers need to get Ufologists running in the opposite direction than where the truth lies.

I am not stating that Leon Davidson's theory of CIA fabrication is the ultimate truth because the completely opposite viewpoint that espouses the extraterrestrial hypothesis is equally suspect. So rather than try and match a theory to the phenomenon, perhaps we should match the deceiver to the deceived through the keen eyes of observation, keeping in mind the principles of deception, in an effort to eliminate the human element from the equation. Once the deceiver's role is exposed, what we are left with is just the phenomenon itself and true research can begin.

Principles of Deception

“I make the adversary see my strengths as weaknesses and my weaknesses as strengths while I cause his strengths to become weaknesses and discover where he is not strong . . . I conceal my tracks so that none can discern them; I keep silence so that none can hear me.”

Sun Tzu
The Art of War, c. 500 BC

The following was paraphrased from: Second World War Deception, Lessons Learned for Today’s Joint Planner by Donald J. Bacon, Major, USAF, Air Command and Staff College Wright Flyer Paper No. 5

Seven major factors for effective deception efforts:

Control all key channels of information
Good Intelligence “feedback” on deception operations
High-level and centralized control over deception planning
Practice sound deception techniques
Subordinate deception to strategic and operational objectives
Maintain adequate secrecy
Provide sufficient time for deception execution

Control all key channels of information

Strategists still have to identify the most appropriate means of conveying
deception stories to the adversary and to ensure that all the various channels of intelligence accessible to the adversary convey information consistent with those stories. The deception story has to be sent while the truth has to remain hidden. Consequently, deception planners need to either exploit or deny critical channels of information available to the adversary.

Good Intelligence “feedback” on deception operations

Deception planners need intelligence to identify adversary perceptions, channels of information, and susceptibility to deception. Planners also need methods to gather feedback.

High-level and centralized control over deception planning

During World War 2 the various organizations the British, Americans, and Soviets developed all provided high-level and centralized control of deception operations. This ensured that deception and operational plans were cohesive and that the various governmental elements portrayed the same deception stories.

This principle of centralized control must be a bedrock for today’s joint deception planning. Strategic and operational deception planning must be centralized and located high within the combatant command organization, and those plans should be coordinated with the National Security Council. This will ensure all instruments of power are integrated into deception planning, and all actions are consistent with the deception story. High-level centralized planning ensures that critical information, which otherwise might remain compartmentalized, can be shrewdly exploited for deception purposes.

Practice sound deception techniques

Exploiting adversary perceptions and expectations will remain critical in future deception operations. The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) underscored this point in 1980 when it reported an analysis of a 131 battles that showed deception operations will be successful, defined as attaining surprise, 96 percent of the time when the deceiver exploits the adversary’s preexisting beliefs.

Conditioning. It is human nature to base expectations on what has been seen in the past, even if those past experiences represent only a small sample size.

Intelligence “windfalls” are subject to close scrutiny and are not usually believed. “Targets” are increasingly apt to believe a deception story the more they have to work at finding it. This premise is best stated by Charles Cruickshank, a historian on World War II deception. “The perfect deception plan is like a jigsaw puzzle. Pieces of the information are allowed to reach the adversary in such a way as to convince him that he has discovered them by accident.”

Subordinate deception to strategic and operational objectives

Meeting strategic and operational goals should be the aim of all deception. Deception must not be done just for the sake of doing deception. It must be closely integrated into operational and strategic planning to ensure that the actual and deception objectives are cohesive.

Today’s strategists need to realize that deception may have unintended consequences that could hinder future operations. The best way to minimize this risk is to integrate deception planning at the beginning of strategic and operational planning.

Maintain adequate secrecy

Successful deception requires demanding that security be based on a strict “need to know” philosophy. Both the actual and the deception plans are symbiotic and, therefore, both must be vigorously protected.

Although security is critical to deception, there has to be some coordination between key agencies to execute deception plans. Too much security can cause deception operations to be ineffective.

This conclusion illustrates the dilemma between coordination and compartmentalization - the premise behind “need to know” policies - and shows that a careful balance between the two must be found.

Provide sufficient time for deception execution

Deception operations need to be planned and executed far in advance of actual operations. Last minute stories are hard to convey to the adversary without creating suspicion.

Much time is required to send elements of the story to the adversary and for the adversary to piece those elements together to form a picture. Deception requires forethought and methodical planning and execution.

Conclusions

These deception factors provided what Barton Whaley described in his analysis of deception theory when he said, “The ultimate goal of stratagem is to make the adversary quite certain, very decisive, and wrong.”

Deception should be incorporated and integrated into all three levels of war to be most effective. Strategic, operational, and tactical level deception operations must be cohesive and, as Colonel Clarke stated in 1942, should be viewed as “different instruments that play in a single orchestra for which there is only one conductor.”

The bottom line here is that deception can not be left at the combatant command level and below. Deception objectives must be supported at levels above the combatant commands to provide unity of effort. The supported commander in chief must coordinate a strategic level deception strategy with the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and with the National Security Council. It is only at this level that future US deception efforts can match the successes of Allied deception operations in the Second World War.

Exploiting Preexisting Beliefs Works Best. Although Joint Pub 3-58 alludes to the importance of knowing the adversary’s perceptions and in creating deception stories that are plausible, it does not adequately stress the importance of exploiting preexisting
beliefs. Donald Daniel and Katherine Herbig, two experts and authors on military deception, observe that deceptions “which slant the target’s mind-set in directions he is predisposed to take have a higher probability of convincing him than those which run against the grain of his expectations and assumptions.” Furthermore, they note that the stronger a target’s predispositions, the “more a target will ignore information inconsistent with them.”

Not For the Faint of Heart

2009-08-28T18:11:00.009-06:00

As I pointed out in my article “The Internet Matrix”, the Internet has become a hotbed of disinformation and shadowy figures hiding behind anonymity and obscurity. My first experience with this was when I was investigating the Great Lakes Dive Company (GLDC) in 2006, and the second when I investigated the California Drones in 2007. My recent experience on the Open Minds (OM) Forum is eerily reminiscent.

First, a word of caution, don’t venture on a message board that applies the tactics I am about to describe without first questioning your mental ability to take the heat, and secondly without arming yourself with some knowledge about how disinformation works. Read my article “Into the Lion’s Den” for how to practice recognizing disinformation when it occurs.

Let’s start with the messages from the anonymous “Jim” on GLDC's message board questioning my investigation into GLDC’s claims. I had just posted a message on the board asking for GLDC to provide non-repudiation (identity beyond doubt) that they were a real company.

James,
Can't wait to see the results of your "investigation" . I don't think you are following this whole company thing correctly so let me try to explain this to you, maybe Adam wasn't able to get the point across correctly. Once again, Great Lakes Dive Company was started in 2001, it wasn't then and isn't now, the exact legal name of the corporation in the state of Michigan, it is simply what the operating name is. (Edited for brevity) I agree with Adam, MUFON needs someone a little less adversarial and a little more diplomatic when dealing with sensitive situations (that is a quote from Adam by the way).

By the way James I personally would like to comment on the email that you sent to Adam questioning our "pure" intentions of educating the public and solving mysteries because we want to do a documentary. What exactly is MUFON doing plastering Dan Akroyd's picture on their website? I'm sure that helps people understand UFO's and the Paranormal much better (for $45 a year)...stick to teaching James, leave the history making, discovery business to the real men.
Jim

So you will notice that the message starts off defensively with “Can't wait to see the results of your "investigation". I don't think you are following this whole company thing correctly…” Notice the indignant tone. Also, notice how the message ends defensively with asking me to be a little more diplomatic; followed by criticizing MUFON’s use of Dan Aykroyd’s photo on our website and charging membership fees, and then finished off with a personal attack.

So here the disinformer adopted the standard disinformation formula of righteous indignation, followed by calling into question my motives and credibility as well as those of MUFON, to keep the focus off the fact that GLDC was not showing up in public records. These were tactics of intimidation to get me to stand down on my investigation.

Now take a look at the following post from my recent visit to OM, this time looking for the OM owners to establish non-repudiation of their own identities. One of the owners in question who goes by screen name IVO5000 responds:

James,
Good to see you back here at Open Minds - the cutting edge of Ufology and Disclosure-related topics.

There are several points you have raised in your blog post and are reiterating here at OM which are blatantly untrue. I can only guess as to your motivation for taking this particular approach and dredging up events from eighteen months ago.

What is mind-boggling is that you fabricate allegations and then expect others to provide you with the evidence that these allegations are false - that is not how it works.
Perhaps you have forgotten the several e-mails you and I exchanged last year? Let me refresh you (and everyone else reading here for that matter) with some of their content:

You are now falsely stating that "...When I pressed my case, I was then kicked off the boards...". The truth is you were never kicked off the forum and you left after stating the following to me in an e-mail "...No need to worry, I won't be wasting any more time on the forum...".

You are now falsely stating that "...When I joined the boards, I was treated by the moderators... in the same way I was treated by the Dive Company message board members, in a negative way using disinformation methods of deflection and intimidation...". The reality is that if you read back to those posts you will see that the moderators, admins and owners of OM reached out to you via Public Posts, Private Messages, and E-mails in an attempt to calm down a situation whose very flames you were actively fanning. Instead you chose to ignore the Private Messages and posted publicly.

You finally did respond to e-mails I sent to you. And with your consent I will publish the full content of those e-mails here. Those e-mails fully support my statements about how we reached out to you and attempted to work with you on this but it was you who chose to take the path you followed.

You have falsely stated "...Now the interesting thing about Open Minds is that the two principles (Admin and Ivo5000) who allegedly co-own it and with whom I have had some interesting email exchanges don't seem to be real people themselves. I could be wrong here but I challenge anyone to investigate this for themself (sic) and if you can surface a real resume for either partner, then I will retract my statement..."

The reality is that Open Minds is owned by five individuals. The reality is that you chose to correspond with one of them (me) over the course of several days through many e-mails. Do you often correspond with unknown entities? The truth is I offered you information in those e-mails about myself that anyone with a computer and a Google search engine could find out all of the information needed. I would think that with the vast research resources available to you that you would have been able to find out anything you wanted about me and Open Minds.

Your allegations about intel connections we at Open Minds might have is interesting coming from someone who has a background in Army Intel.

The one point I would like to agree with you on is when you state "....So my friends, beware of La-La land (the Internet), don't believe everything you read there....". Interesting that you use that very medium (the Internet) to warn people about its use and content. However, this folks is what is called deflection.

The bottom line James is that we tried to work with you in the past. You were the one who shunned the people at Open Minds and then played martyr to the masses. It is indeed a pity that you didn't follow up on my offer to work with you on collaborative efforts between Open Minds and MUFON.

By the way, if you are indeed a man of your word, then feel free to begin retracting.

IVO5000 wastes no time showing his indignant behavior that I was asking questions on the forum or as he put it “dredging up events from eighteen months ago” and his righteous indignation explodes in the second paragraph with “what is mind boggling is that you fabricate allegations…” followed by “you falsely stated” three times. Then he calls my credibility and motives into question with “coming from someone who has a background in Army Intel”, and “interesting that you use the very medium (the Internet) to warn people about its use and content.”

Not once does he address the question posed to the board about whether or not he was willing to establish non-repudiation of his own identity. Classic disinformation – there is no need to answer a question if you can shift the focus back on the questioner.

Now an interesting thing occurs on a message board when disinformation is dished out. Others on the board come to support the disinformer because either they are also part of the disinformation team or innocently don’t recognize what is really going on. Take for example the following post on the GLDC message board after “Jim” questioned my investigation.

Hi Everyone,
I tried sending an earlier post, so if it does get through and this post is redundant, my apologies.
I am very familiar with the "Kinross" incident, having read about it in grade school during the late 1960s and early 70s. Like many of you, I find the case almost too good to be true and will wait patiently for details to unfold.

Unfortunately I find the MUFON investigator's stance a bit heavy-handed. Such attitudes tarnish the reputation of well-meaning UFO research organizations. While it may be frustrating for an investigator when information does not come forth rapidly enough or seems suspect, diplomacy and a level head are in order. Might I suggest a meeting on neutral ground with a different member of MUFON or CUFOS (Center for UFO Studies in Chicago) and arrange with GLDC for a viewing of some of the underwater footage, and report their impressions to this board and their respective organization(s). In this manner a professional and scholarly relationship can be established and a well-documented timeline created of interaction between all parties involved.

Frankly, I am quite surprised that Linda Moulton Howe of earthfiles.com or George Noory's Coast to Coast AM radio show hasn't featured this story for an international audience. Perhaps I missed their coverage?

In any event, congratulations GLDC. Excellent work.

Best wishes,
Art Chavez

Whether or not the supporting member is in on the ploy or not doesn’t matter. What disinformers get as a bonus out of this support is that the questioner feels further isolated because what started out as a straightforward question, has now become a “heavy handed” question.

A second GLDC board member, Joe_4090 adds:

I have to agree with the 'heavy-handedness' of MUFON's investigation. Right now their 'investigator' is here, dumping on our discussion forum, with his 'witch-hunting'.

1. To the best of my knowledge, GLDC has NOT described the artifact presented as a 'UFO'. They have only referred to it as 'a mystery'. Of course there has been speculation that it may be something 'extraordinary', but I haven't noticed anyone from GLDC adding fuel to that theory.

2. Regardless of GLDC's status as a 'Company', 'LLC', ' Group of Individuals'...or whatever.....that is not proof in my opinion that they are perpetrators of a hoax! GLDC has other projects ongoing besides the F-89 one, so it appears to me that they are performing the function of what they describe themselves as....regardless of whether or not they fit some technicality as to what a 'company' is.

Perhaps the thing to do would be to stop harassing them and wait for further developments and releases before ramming one's 'almighty judgment' down everyone's throat!! Time will tell whether or not a hoax is being perpetrated.

For what its worth, everything GLDC has presented looks 'good' to me!

Notice how Joe_4090 not only agrees with the “heavy handedness” but supports GLDC’s legitimacy as a company by stating that “GLDC has other projects ongoing” (unsubstantiated) and “looks good to me” (passes my muster). This is followed up with reinforcing the heavy handedness message by stating “before ramming one’s ‘almighty judgement’ down everyone’s throat”.

Let’s see how the supportive role showed up on OM:

OM member JakeReason chimes in:

"Post comprehensive CV's and resumes"?
Is that what it takes now to prove a living person?
If I may digress to the absurdity of your extortionary character attack;
Heil Hitler! Long live Saint Joseph Stalin!
Do you carry a chip injection syringe with you?
Back to reality;
What's this R-E-A-L-L-Y all about Carrion?
Boring day at the office for you?
Hey, but thanks for the publicity

Notice how JakeReason has made no statement of opinion but asks four questions of his own to make my question appear to be absurd on its face by associating it with the “heavy handedness” of Stalin and Hitler.

OM member Fore jumps in as well:

only wonder one thing after reading the last page of this thread.... Does James often jump to conclusions of there being an "Intel Agent" behind a particular forum?

And if so, how many other sites like this one does he suspect? Or is it an OM only thing? (how many others sites are in queue? I'd love to hear the statistics...)

I find it odd that his Army training didn't cover this sort of stuff (and if it did, why is he jumping to conclusions?).

When/If the Admins get to show their CV and clear their name of this....?rather strange?....accusation. How does this reflect on mentality behind the International Directors seat?

I for one got something very different than what I was expecting. It's not everyday that you see these kinds of accusations leveled especially when it comes from the "top" of the UFOlogy folk.

Too bad people don't come with a a sort of black box recorder that you can just pluck out and read over the contents of the moment where an Admin of a forum becomes a suspicious "Intel Agent". I'd like to see how they made a strange left turn to reach that conclusion.
Especially when the best of the best usually goes at the top rung. (International director is nothing to sniff at!)

I feel like ufology just got dragged through the mud yet again over the inherently "odd thinking" that befalls it..

See a pattern here? Just like JakeReason, Fore asks seven questions of his own to make my one question seem absurd and then associates my “heavy handedness” with that of an Intel Agent.

Now back to GLDC, where “Jim” on the defensive states:

As far as the MUFON thing, hey I'm all for a truce. I think Adam was a little insulted by J.C. due to the fact Adam was giving him details on the project itself and J.C. decided to take an accusatory attitude after weeks of emails (over something stupid (my opinion) like the name of the company). If it had been anyone else in the MUFON organization I'm sure we would have brushed it off, but this is supposed to be the top guy at MUFON. That kind of gestapo-like questioning just ends up dealing MUFON out of the future project updates. Getting a stamp of approval from MUFON isn't a priority for us, as again we are not members of the UFO community. Also, there are diplomatic ways of asking questions, and being patient when the details don't come fast enough, especially when the news is less than a month old. Either way I'll be the man here, and agree to knock off the public argument on this board. Let's see if J.C.'s got the kohonas to do the same.

And at OM, IVO5000:

The truth has been shown to be an inconvenience for James in what ever the heck his agenda is.
We have shown that he has lied several times over these last nine pages. Is that how you search for truth? Is this the type of behavior the Board of Directors at MUFON desires from their International Director? I would hope/expect not.
Let me make one thing very clear here - MUFON is an organization I respect....James Carrion is not.

In both of these posts plus Fore's before that, the focus is on me and my position as the International Director of MUFON, trying to depict my questioning GLDC or OM admins as absurd for someone in such an esteemed position. This tactic is designed to get the questioner to shrink from their stance by erroneously trying to show they are letting their emotions get in the way of their better judgment.

These are just some of the common disinformation tactics that were used on the GLDC board and are also showing up at OM. The Great Lakes Dive Company never proved to be a real company. Will the owners of OM show the world that they are real people or hide behind their anonymity and obscurity?

Thou Does Protest Too Much

2009-08-28T08:09:00.007-06:00

I opened my email this morning to find an interesting message from Victor Martinez:

BREAKING UFOLOGY FLAME WAR: MUFON's International Director JAMES CARRION Accuses "The OPEN MINDS FORUM" Moderators of Running a Rogue Co-Intel Operation Filled With "USG-DIRECTED AGENTS of INTRIGUE, SABOTAGE and SUBTERFUGE OPERATING FROM A DEN OF DARKNESS, SIN, LIES and DISINFORMATION!"
ATTACK MODE: "I will expose the SERPENTS of SLIME [OM Moderators} for being what they really are: running a rogue, Cold War era-like Co-Intel Operation!"

After I laughed for a good five minutes at the creative spin someone put on this, I thanked the muses for sending some fresh blog material my way.

So let’s talk about what’s really going on here. The two indisputable facts here are:

The owners at OM are less than transparent about their identities. Sure, some of them have names, facebook pages, co-board members that vouch for them, but when the tactic employed is to deflect calls for transparency and something as simple as posting their professional bios, it only fuels speculation.

Disinformation tactics were used heavily in the thread at http://lucianarchy.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=cali1&action=display&thread=6287&page=1 . Now I am not saying that everyone that chimed in is a disinfo specialist, but you have to wonder again why such tactics were used. Do you have to work for the US Government to use disinformation tactics? No, you don’t as they are employed in all walks of life by individuals to corporations.

So how the email Victor sent out was constructed out of these two facts is beyond me.
Now is it paranoid to wonder why this is happening on a board that proclaims to be legitimate? Paranoid is a strong word and I think suspicious would be the better choice.

So to set the record straight, I never called anyone on OM a government agent or OM a counter-intelligence operation and I am sure the vast majority of folks who communicate on OM are just good honest people with an interest in the phenomenon. What I have stated in a previous blog entry is that the two times I have been on the OM message boards, it has felt eerily similar to the time I spent on the Great Lakes Dive Company message boards in 2006 related to the Kinross hoax. What will follow in my next blog article is a detailed comparison of the two experiences and the similarity of tactics employed.

Now, do I suspect that the intelligence agencies have a hand in manipulating truth on Internet message boards? Absolutely! But they can do that on MUFON’s message board as well as OM. Again, what troubles me is that the owners of OM are not only reluctant to espouse identity transparency but also are the same ones using disinformation tactics. That doesn’t necessarily make them government agents but it doesn’t portray them in a positive light either. Why hide behind obscurity in a field that doesn’t need more shadowy behavior, but openness and truth?

Into the Lions Den

2009-08-28T00:02:00.002-06:00

I find the tactics of disinformation to be fascinating especially when they are being doled out in huge measures. What a better way to learn about disinformation then to see it in action, as I experienced recently over at the Open Minds forum.

Before you go off and read the thread at OM at http://lucianarchy.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=cali1&action=display&thread=6287&page=1 , I suggest you first print out this article that lists the common ploys used by those practicing disinformation: http://www.whale.to/m/disin.html#Twenty-Five_Rules_of_Disinformation__ and compare it to the posts. Keep in mind that not everyone who is posting in this thread is practicing disinformation but you should be able to pick out who is. Email me at jcarrion@mufon.com with all of the posts you can match up to a disinfo technique employed. This should be an interesting and informative exercise.

Am I a Real Person?

2009-08-27T13:46:00.003-06:00

Anyone who calls themself a UFO researcher or truth seeker should be willing to adhere to the tenet of non-repudiation, that is to establish identity beyond doubt. Since my own background is often called into question and the profile option on blogspot limits the amount of information that can be included, I am writing this post to provide you with the the information you need to establish who I am beyond doubt.

James Carrion Professional Background
2006 – 2009 MUFON, Inc. – International Director

How to verify through public records:
Go to http://www.sos.state.co.us/
Click on “Search the Business Database” at http://www.sos.state.co.us/biz/BusinessEntityCriteriaExt.do
Type in Mutual UFO Network
Public company web site: www.mufon.com

1996 – 2009 Owner of Mountain View Systems, LLC., a Computer Training Company

How to verify through public records:
Follow instructions above.
Type in name of Business: Mountain View Systems LLC.
Public company web site: www.mntview.com

1995 – 1996 Florida State University, Administrative User Services
1987-1994 Florida State University, Administrative User Services

How to verify my employment:Contact Janet Reagan 850-644-1689 jreagan@admin.fsu.edu

1994 – 1995 Computer Trainer at National Data Products, Inc.
Company no longer in business.

1983-1987 Signals Intelligence Analyst, United States Army

How to verify my service:
Official military records are stored at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, Missouri. Information about U.S. service personnel is available to the public under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Getting the information is not difficult. To make a request, all you have to do is download a form and mail or fax it in - http://www.archives.gov/st-louis/military-personnel/standard-form-180.html Include a cover letter requesting the records under FOIA, and ask for all available releasable information. If the person was never in the military, you'll receive a reply telling you that the center has no record of him or her.

You will need the following information:
Full name: James Patrick Carrion
Branch of Service: US Army
Dates of Service: October 1983 – July 1987
DOB: October 22, 1965 (use in lieu of social security number)

Education:
Florida State University, M.A. in International Affairs
Florida State University, B.A. in Russian Language

How to verify my education:
Contact the Florida State University Registrar’s Office at:
Information Desk: (850) 644-1050 E-mail: registrar@admin.fsu.edu

Wolves in Sheep's Clothing

2009-08-27T02:08:00.013-06:00

Well my second foray into the Internet Matrix over at the Open Minds Forum (OM) concluded in a predictable response, a thread being locked, although this time my account wasn't banned like the first time.

Seems like I have touched a nerve with asking two of the five co-owners of OM to provide detail on their professional backgrounds, related to my previous article on the "Internet Matrix" where I expressed doubt as to their identities and where I challenged anyone to prove me wrong. If the less than cordial exchange over at the OM shows anything, it is that my suspicions are not unfounded.

Rather than spend my time speculating what "Admin" and "IVO5000" will do to conclusively prove that they are indeed who they claim to be, I would like to analyze the exchange of messages and point out the disinformation tactics used by some forum members to manipulate perception and to draw attention away from the issue being discussed. Why? Because it is a noticeable and predictable pattern that if you learn to recognize, you can effectively stay on target with the message that others are trying to dance around.

The thread starts out innocently enough with a member quoting my "Internet Matrix" article and how I had doubts about the identities of the OM owners. Soon, one of the OM Global Moderators "Fore" jumps in with:

It's surprising that such a claim could even be made by Carrion. I thought he worked in intelligence or for the government before? Or was that another MUFON guy? (someone refresh my memory?)

Admin and Ivo5000 are very much real people. If anyone chooses to send a PM to either one you'll see that they are pretty down to earth people. On the other hand, if people knew
several things that went on privately during the drone saga with some MUFON members, they would no doubt "frown" quite a bit. In either case, he wasn't mistreated. He was just frustrated. <--- a safe bet statement. Sometimes people hold a grudge even after all these years.

The first tactic used here is "righteous indignation" or in other words "how dare you", followed up with a left jab of "question credibility and motives" by alluding to me being an intelligence agent and even further that others in MUFON are questionable. The third statement is what Fore is trying to bolster with the first two statements, namely that the “question” - Can Admin and IVO5000 establish their identities beyond doubt (non-repudiation)?, is not relevant and Fore then slyly suggests an invalid method of establishing non-repudiation, by sending private messages to Admin and IVO5000.

Fore then finishes off with more statements that call my motives and those of MUFON into question. The tactic here is to shift the focus off of the question back on to the questioner - classic disinformation.

Now I jump in a couple of posts later with:

I am simply asking Admin and IVO5000 to verify that they are real people by posting their comprehensive CVs or resumes so that I can verify them through public records. Surely as the co-owners of OM, they wouldn't be averse to proving their identities.

Then one of the other owners of OM chimes in with the same message posted as a comment on this blog but which I have redacted:

As one of five Co-owners at Open Minds Forum I can verify that both Admin/Bren Burton and Ivo5000/Chris Iversen are real people.

I don’t question they are flesh and blood persons, but whether or not they are who they claim to be, but the issues is danced around again by suggesting another invalid method of non-repudiation, namely, “I can vouch for them”.

Staying on message with my next post:

I would also like to set the record straight. I was kicked off these boards, at least that's what I call it when my username and password no longer work. If it was subsequently re-activated, I was never notified.

Since my past interactions with IVO5000 and Admin lead me to believe they were hiding something about their backgrounds, I simply want to confirm that they are who they claim to be. I am a public figure and my whole life is an open book that can easily be investigated through public records a mile long. Can they say the same? If they have nothing to hide then they should have no issue with providing information about themselves than can be confirmed through public records.

Finally, IVO5000 himself responds which I again have redacted with the most salient points:

What is mind-boggling is that you fabricate allegations and then expect others to provide you with the evidence that these allegations are false - that is not how it works.

The reality is that Open Minds is owned by five individuals. The reality is that you chose to correspond with one of them (me) over the course of several days through many e-mails. Do you often correspond with unknown entities? The truth is I offered you information in those e-mails about myself that anyone with a computer and a Google search engine could find out all of the information needed. I would think that with the vast research resources available to you
that you would have been able to find out anything you wanted about me and Open
Minds.

Your allegations about Intel connections we at Open Minds might have is interesting coming from someone who has a background in Army Intel.

See the pattern? Righteous indignation followed by questioning my credibility and motives to put the focus off of the question and back on to the questioner. Now the only way to get past this dance is to stay on message. If you allow yourself to be intimidated or cajoled into dropping your question, then the disinformation tactics have worked.

So I respond with:

My motivation is simple - to find out if you are who you claim to be. Posting previous emails and spinning what happened in the past still does not answer the question, who are you really? You don't need to post your resume publicly, you can send it me at hq@mufon.com, although in the spirit of openness which this forum claims to be founded on, I don't see why any of the owners of OM, whether it is one or five would fear to do. Unless of course you have something to hide. So I will retract my statement once I have your resume in hand that I can compare to public records. What do you have to lose by sending it to me if all is on the up and up?

And another targeted post:

Well if you took the time to read my posts at followthemagicthread.blogspot.com you would know what this is really about - strange company hiding behind anonymity and obscurity. So I am asking the owners of OM, but more specifically IVO5000 and Admin to put some substance behind their personas and to show me that they are who they claim to be.

How many anonymous company CEOs are there in the world? How many refuse to post their bios and comprehensive resumes? As the figureheads for their companies, they are the public voice of their company and it would be ludicrous to hide anything about their professional backgrounds. Why is OM the exception?

The final post by “Surfer”, one of the other owners of OM, locked the thread with:

Speaking for the Admins, as one of the five co-owners, we are not going to give you what you want. You made the accusations, the burden of proof is on you, not on us. You do not make policy here. Our business is none of your business. You are finished here. Goodbye.

I am including all of these responses to drive home how important it is to keep stating and restating your question in the face of intimidation and deflection. If you stray even in the least bit, then the disinformation tactics will win out. You can read the entire exchange at http://lucianarchy.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=cali1&action=display&thread=6287&page=1
So my friends before you enter the Internet Matrix on your own where anonymity rules, be prepared to dance the disinformation dance. In Ufology, only witnesses should be afforded anonymity, and anyone else who hides behind it should be suspected as a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

Lost in Space

2009-08-25T02:13:00.007-06:00

Human behavior is normally fascinating to observe but even more so in the context of the UFO phenomenon. I have seen the most rational and scientifically minded individuals suspend their common sense in favor of their desire to believe when confronted with the ambiguity of data from a UFO report.

Case in point is the Stan Romanek case that has taken the nation by storm. Although new to the public, Stan's case was originally investigated by MUFON years earlier and his case was written up in the MUFON Journal and Symposium Proceeding. I decided to look into this intriguing case for myself, so my good friend Clifford Clift and I arranged to interview Stan Romanek in his home in Loveland, Colorado on September 17, 2007 where the interview lasted some five hours.

Stan seemed to be an amicable guy and open to telling his story and he consented to having the interview recorded. What followed was the long tale that is now the subject of his book titled: Messages: The World's Most Documented Extraterrestrial Contact Story.

After the interview, Stan showed us numerous videos on his computer that showed flying orbs, aliens peeking in windows, and poltergeist activity. When I asked him for a copy of the timeline of his experiences, he agreed and printed off a copy. When I asked him for a copy of the alleged Air Force memo that was found in his mailbox, he refused. I subsequently located a copy of the memo from a third party source. I asked Stan if he would provide MUFON a copy of all of his videos to analyze and he was noncomittal.

When I asked Stan what he wanted from MUFON, he indicated that he simply wanted investigators to promptly follow up on any future activity that occurred to him. Unfortunately, Stan never subsequently called in MUFON investigators.

Warning Will Robinson!

After reading the existing MUFON reports on the case, I was puzzled as to the authenticity of Stan's experiences. They sounded amazing but how could I know for sure. I decided to take a forensic approach to the investigation and to look a little closer at the evidence at hand. Starting with the timeline Stan provided, I noticed that the word "follow" was misspelled as "fallow". Wait a minute I thought to myself, I have seen that misspelling before, but where? I soon found out.

Reviewing the numerous sighting reports filed by Stan, family members and friends on the National UFO Reporting Center's web site, I found that not only had Stan misspelled the word "follow" as "fallow" in his own report, but the same misspelled word could also be found in the report filed by his sister and also Stan's friends. I would have not given this further notice, thinking maybe one person had filed all of the reports on behalf of the others, except for two glaring red flags that subsequently popped up.

On NUFORC's web site is a report filed by an anonymous third party witness who allegedly saw a UFO send a beam of light on to Stan's van. Guess which word was misspelled in this third party report? Yep, the word "follow" as "fallow". I began to get a sick feeling that something was not right in all of this, and my suspicions were further confirmed when I got a copy of the Air Force letter. Yes, the same word "follow" is misspelled as "fallow" in this alleged Air Force document. Now, what are the chances that not only Stan's own documentation and reports, but also that of a third party witness and an alleged government agency document ALL have the same misspelled word. In my mind, the odds of this occuring due to chance were astronomical.

Now you can verify this all for yourself by examining the original documents:

http://www.mntview.com/doclibrary/romanek%20timeline.pdf - Stan Romanek's own timeline http://nuforc.org/webreports/021/S21824.html - Stan Romanek sister's report to NUFORC http://nuforc.org/webreports/021/S21901.html - Stan Romanek friend's report to NUFORC re. anonymous witnesses interviewed.
http://nuforc.org/webreports/021/S21876.html - Stan Romanek friend's report to NUFORC http://nuforc.org/webreports/021/S21826.html - Stan Romanek's own report to NUFORC http://nuforc.org/webreports/019/S19813.html - Report from an alleged 3rd party witness http://www.mntview.com/doclibrary/airforce.jpg - Air Force letter allegedly left in Stan Romanek's mailbox

So, does this prove that Stan's experiences are all a hoax? Well, it is not conclusive proof, but it definitely raises enough red flags that a more thorough investigation is required. To ignore this data is unscientific, with the burden of explaining these glaring inconsistencies on that of the person making the extraordinary claims.

Now I am willing to give Stan the benefit of the doubt into how this misspelled word popped into all of these documents, but unfortunately the world at large may not be so forgiving.

Update: Since writing this article, I have come across three news stories that document other uses of the word "fallow" allegedly by third parties supporting Romanek's story.
http://blogs.pitch.com/plog/2009/08/peeping_alien_on_your_tv_stan_romanek_boo_video_coming_to_abc_next_week.php

http://blogs.pitch.com/plog/2009/08/_the_romaneks_respond_plus_see_romaneks_ufo_footage_on_abc_tonight.php

http://www.pitch.com/2009-08-13/news/in-kansas-city-celebrity-ufo-filmer-stan-romanek-finds-an-audience-of-believers-and-one-reporter/1

The Fallacy of Disclosure

2009-08-24T06:45:00.014-06:00

Imagine that you killed someone in your youth, were never found out, and you lived with that terrible secret until you took it to your own grave. The guilt may have haunted you every day, but the fear of what would happen to your life if you ever revealed your secret, outweighed your desire to appease your conscious. Now imagine that there were co-conspirators who were also guilty of the crime, and your fear was magnified by not knowing how the others would react to the same pressures. How likely would it be for all involved to show up at police headquarters and turn themselves in simultaneously with a co-signed written confession? Very unlikely.

I am not trying to compare murder to UFO secrecy, although they are both criminal acts, but instead to illustrate what the internal struggles are of those "in the know" over whether to disclose what they know to the world. Disclosure is the UFO buzzword that describes a coming clean on the UFO subject to a cynical American public, 76% of who according to the latest AOL poll already believe that their government is hiding the truth.

Well let's talk a little about the criminality of hiding the truth from the American people. The United States is a country of laws and we would like to believe that our legal system, although imperfect, will sustain our society and prevent us from falling into chaos. Although we don't trust our leaders, we trust that the system will right itself if it ever falls out of balance. For the most part, the system does behave that way, although it ususally takes a crisis to act as a catalyst for correction.

Take for example our recent economic crisis spurred on by uncontrolled greed and indifference. When on the verge of economic collapse, bank failures and the threat of another great depression - the seriousness of the situation was realized and steps taken to correct the problems. One of the steps was to hold public congressional hearings and to disclose the greed and excesses that contributed to the problem. Those who could be accused of a crime like Bernie Madoff were sent to jail. You simply can't hide economic collapse from the American public and when the public unanimously cries foul, heads have to roll.

How does this apply to UFO disclosure? Let's revisit the AOL poll. Even if a majority of Americans believe that UFO secrecy is real, this does not translate into a call for action because there is no associated crisis that requires immediate attention. The American people are more concerned about jobs, health care and whether or not they will be able to retire as they planned given the current economic situation. The only thing that would change this status quo is the proverbial landing on the White House lawn, in other words, an undeniable public display of non-human interaction. I for one won't plan my retirement around that happening.

If UFO secrecy was put into place to maintain national security or as some would like to believe, to maintain societal control, then the controls have been very successful because national security is intact and American society is still for the most part civil. If laws were broken and crimes committed in the process, these criminals don't lose sleep at night, because in their minds the ends have justified the means. Why then would those "in the know" want to rock this boat that has been soundly afloat for some 60 plus years? They wouldn't as long as the cons of disclosure outweigh the pros of disclosure.

Another indication that disclosure is a fallacy is the repeated promise of disclosure by inside sources and the failure to deliver on those promises. This in itself is a control technique to keep the faithful who believe that disclosure is unilaterally possible, hopeful and waiting instead of taking other actions to effectuate it. This carrot has been held out in front of Ufology for over 40 years and like Charlie Brown's football is always pulled away at the last moment. If you don't know how I really feel about so called inside sources, then look for my blog entry with that title.

So what kind of actions will be necessary to "force" disclosure if it is not forthcoming and the White House landings don't occur? There is a crack in the secrecy egg that can be exploited. You see, these same criminals who originally justified breaking laws for the good of the country, just like the bankers and fat cats on Wall Street, got very greedy and decided that UFO secrecy could be taken advantage of for more then just hiding an ultimate truth. It could also be used for other operational purposes related to national security - counterintelligence, psychological warfare, mind control, societal manipulation and all of the other nefarious schemes that the CIA and other intelligence agencies have been accused of in the past. These very mundane uses leave traces as indelible as any fingerprint, and there are many folks outside of Ufology who have an interest in such subjects. Imagine if Ufology was able to enlist the help of cold war historians, investigative journalists or the James Bamfords of the world into looking into UFO secrecy to expose these very mundane purposes. The resulting dominoe effect of exposure is what those "in the know" fear most - that Ufology goes mainstream and is looked at through a different set of lenses than just that of extraterrestrial visitation.

Whistleblowers - Whose horn are they tooting?

2009-08-21T12:57:00.045-06:00

Even if the truth behind UFOs has been hidden by a massive cover up, surely the secrecy chamber can't be completely air tight, and a leak is bound to spring up somewhere. At least that is what some whistleblower proponents like to believe.

I think that it is important that we examine whistleblowing precedents that have occurred (or not) in other matters pertaining to national security. How about we start with the mother of all compartmentalized national security programs - the Manhattan Project. If you take the time, as I have, to study the (already declassified) comprehensive security methods put into place to protect this very important and secret WW2 project, you will find that:

- The security of the project was delegated to a dedicated group of project security personnel that reported through the strictest of channels only to Manhattan Project managers.

- The men and women who were part of this security operation were hand picked and only the creme de la creme were selected.

- This security apparatus vetted and carefully watched all project personnel. Those deemed a security risk were moved to positions of less trust and their access to classified material terminated.

- Any public release of information, intentional or not, was dealt with swiftly and decisively.

- Only a select few project personnel knew the overall goal of the project, namely to build an atomic bomb, and many project personnel only learned what the real goal was AFTER the atomic bomb was dropped on Japan.

Why is this relevant to UFO secrecy? Well here we have a project of tremendous importance to the United States that had to be protected at all costs, but the tremendous size of the Manhattan project and the complex logistics that were required to pull it off, created security challenges on an unprecedented scale. Amazingly, the Manhattan Project security team did pull it off, so effectively, that even Vice President Truman did not know of the project's existence until he became President. Only a massive Soviet espionage effort managed to infiltrate the project.

Manhattan Project documentation shows that project security personnel were worried about public whistleblowers who could expose project secrets to the American public and our enemies. The security team put into place failsafe mechanisms to effectively deal with such leaks. What they couldn't prevent however, as history shows, was the infiltration by Communist sympathizers who effectively hid their allegiances and maintained their positions of trust, so as to covertly provide project intelligence to their handlers. In other words, public release of information could be dealt with effectively but the same could not be said of covert release.

Now let's apply this analogy to the UFO cover up which by most accounts was not instituted until after 1945. With the success of the Manhattan Project fresh in their minds, those security forces so tasked, would have adopted the same modus operandi in protecting the UFO secret. Again anticipating that someone on the inside could possibly divulge secret knowledge, safeguards would have been put into place to prevent this or squash it.

So what are we to make of all of these UFO whistleblowers that have come forward and claim privileged insider knowledge? Can we believe their claims and their motives? Are they telling the truth? This is a complex question, so let's break the mechanics of whistleblowing into its essential components:

- Whistleblower Identity

- Whistleblower Scope of Knowledge

- Whistleblower Motives

Whistleblower Identity

UFO Whistleblowers that request anonymity out of fear of persecution DO have to be worried about their well being. They would not be "in the know" to begin with if they were not first carefully vetted and selected and then took a solemn oath to not divulge what they were made privy to. Normally taking a national security oath carries a tremendous penalty for violating it. If you are privy to and divulge classified information, the penalty ususally entails time behind bars, but could involve the dealth penalty if serious enough.

So anonymous whistleblowers are possible, but hiding behind anonymity will also leave their testimony suspect and unverifiable. How can you trust what a whistleblower is tooting their horn about if you can't verify that they were "in the know" to begin with?

I also have to believe that the handpicked men and women who make up the UFO security apparatus are smart enought to track down leaks even if the whistleblower's identity is not divulged and that this mole hunting capability is repeatedly communicated to all involved personnel, to prevent it from happening in the first place.

Even those whistleblowers who have not requested anonymity have difficulty getting their claims taken seriously. Bob Lazar and Colonel Corso did not hind behind anonymity but their claims are riddled with controversy.

Whistleblower Scope of Knowledge

This is probably the part of UFO whistleblowing that I have the most trouble reconciling. If you were fortunate enough to have insider access to any part of the UFO puzzle, your piece of the puzzle would be so compartmentalized and so small that you would not be able to see the big picture of UFO secrecy. "Need to Know" is an essential component of any secret deep black project and is interwoven into the very fabric of the project. So the only really knowledgable whistleblowers would be those at the very top of the hierarchy who are privy to enough pieces of the puzzle to know what the big picture is in the first place. Of course, they would also tend to be the ones who have the most to lose if the secret is let out.

Whistleblower Motives

Ask anyone who has ever had a security clearance whether they ever willfully disclosed classified information outside of a need to know basis and the answer would most likely be No! One thing that always weighs heavily on your mind when you are put in a position of trust is the penalty for violating your national security oath. When I was in Army intelligence, I had access to material that is public information today, but I will still not talk about it. Oaths are taken seriously. So for a whistleblower to willfully violate their oath not only takes some big kahunas, but express knowledge that severe repercussions may follow. How many folks can truly say they are willing to take that risk?

So before we label a whistleblower an all-American Hero for having the guts to come forward and put themselves in mortal danger for the common good of man and apple pie, we should first question their claims along these three lines: do they have the proper credentials, did they have a need to know and what is their motive for coming forward? If any of these three come up smelling funny, we should stop waving the American flag and wave a red flag instead, because something is awry.

The Internet Matrix

2009-08-20T06:41:00.013-06:00

The Internet is a marvel of modern society but is is also a breeding ground for intelligence agency experiments. I have observed a pattern of activity over the last three years that is disturbing and reeks of information control and manipulation. You should be disturbed as well because the manipulators of truth have a new weapon in their arsenal that is cheap and can be employed in a fraction of the time that past manipulations have required.

Let's start with UFO myth building. If you can remember back to the fall of 2006, a web site sprang up by an alleged salvage and dive company, claiming to have found the remnants of the Air Force jet that crashed in Lake Superior in 1953 while chasing a UFO. Not only did they claim to find the jet from the famous 1953 Kinross Incident but also claimed that the UFO it collided was also on the lake bed nearby. They even posted alleged sonar pictures that showed both the jet and the UFO. This news spread like wildfire throughout the Internet. The dive company also set up a message board on their web site to allow the public to post messages about the find.

I personally spent hundreds of hours trying to substantiate these claims and after publishing a couple of articles in the MUFON Journal that exposed these claims as false, the dive company's web site dissapeared never to resurface. If you would like to read more about this interesting story, you can go to the MUFON Journal archive at http://www.theblackvault.com/wiki/index.php/MUFON_Journals,_2000%27s#2006 and read about this story in the October and November 2006 issues.

So this brings up an interesting question. Who was behind this web site and these false claims? Since there was no obvious monetary motivation for perpetrating this, another possibility is that an intelligence agency was behind this, experimenting with the Internet as a means to promulgate disinformation and send Ufologists down yet another rabbit hole that resulted in a dead-end.

In 2007, the California Drones photos came on the scene and also spread like wildfire throughout the Internet. However this time, the witnesses were allegedly members of the public, ALL of who chose to remain anonymous and could not be proven to be real people. Despite this glaring red flag, the Drones saga is still actively promoted today as a valid case, especially by the message boards of the Open Minds forum http://lucianarchy.proboards.com/index.cgi?
When I joined the boards, I was treated by the moderators and anonymous membership in the same way I was treated by the Dive Company message board members, in a negative way using disinformation methods of deflection and intimidation. When I pressed my case, I was then kicked off the boards. Now the interesting thing about Open Minds is that the two principles (Admin and Ivo5000) who allegedly co-own it and with whom I have had some interesting email exchanges don't seem to be real people themselves. I could be wrong here but I challenge anyone to investigate this for themself and if you can surface a real resume for either partner, then I will retract my statement. You can read MUFON's opinion on the Drones in the April 2008 issue of the MUFON Journal.

So what are the dangers of these message boards since even MUFON has its own board at http://mufonmembers.proboards.com/index.cgi?
The danger lies in the anonymous nature of these boards. Anyone can sign up without proving their identity and they can make any claims that they want. For example, on the MUFON message boards we had a poster who was very critical of MUFON and claimed to be a former MUFON member. When I asked the person to confidentially send me his/her name so I could verify that they were indeed a former member, they stopped posting on the board and it is doubtful they were ever a MUFON member in the first place. More likely they were an agent provocateur in the employ of the intelligence agencies.

The Intelligence agencies can use these message boards to promote false information, build myths like the 2006 Kinross case and the 2007 Drones saga, practice disinformation techniques and character assasinate any one who dares question their tactics. Imagine you are new to the UFO subject and your classroom for learning more about the phenomenon is one of these message boards. How can you believe anything that you read on these boards, even MUFON's own board, when intelligence operatives have free reign? It is one of the questions I have been asking myself for awhile and since MUFON is in the process of completely revamping its web site, is one of the issues that will have to be seriously looked at. MUFON may end up with a new message board site that restricts anonymity for these reasons.

Now I have to laugh when folks prematurely declare that MUFON is dying and that the Internet will replace it. Hogwash! MUFON is the voice of reason in this sea of disinformation, and MUFON field investigators have to prove themselves to be real people in order to investigate cases. MUFON has also taken a zero-tolerance stance on whistle blowers and anonymous inside sources to avoid being manipulated by the intelligence agencies as so many Ufologists have in the past.

So my friends, beware of La-La land (the Internet), don't believe everything you read there, don't trust anonymous sources and if you feel bullied on a UFO related message board, let me know as I would like to keep up on the latest intelligence agency disinformation and manipulation tactics.

The Inside Source

2009-08-18T07:26:00.001-06:00

I am often bewildered as to why Ufologists bite the carrot offered to them by an inside government source requesting anonymity, as more often than not, it leads down a dead-end path, and further muddies the water in a field that is already ruled by confusion. How are we ever to get at the truth when we accept the word of a person who will not subject themselves and their claims to public scrutiny?

It is one thing to accept a UFO witness who wishes to remain anonymous, but something entirely different to accept the anonymity of someone who claims privileged “inside” knowledge of the UFO phenomenon. When we allow ourselves to be led down this primrose path, all of Ufology suffers, and makes us easy fodder for disinformation, misinformation and psychological warfare operations. It has gotten Ufology no closer to the truth and I believe it is time we all take a stance against this behavior.

Many in Ufology believe that inside sources are to be cultivated and treasured, but I strongly disagree. If you look back at the history of Ufology, you will see all of the researchers that have been waylaid, discredited and even vilified for regurgitating the information from their inside source.

Others will claim that Ufologists should not rock the boat when it comes to dealing with Government sources because some information is better than no information. Again, I would disagree. As J. Allen Hynek was fond of saying, Ufology “suffers from an embarrassment of riches” when it comes to the information already at our fingertips from reputable sources of known provenance.

I was even recently admonished by one UFO researcher to not “rock the boat” by taking a hard stance on insider sources. My response was, you cannot rock the boat if you are not in the boat and Ufologists find themselves squarely outside the boat, floundering, and where we have been treading water for the last 60 years. It is time to swim to solid ground.

The Collision Course of Intelligence Agencies and Ufology

2009-08-17T11:42:00.001-06:00

Anyone who has studied the history of UFOs realizes that a war is going on between those who seek the truth and those who want to hide or manipulate it. On the one side of this chess board are the Ufologists who have a genuine yearning for finding out the truth of this phenomenon and on the other side are the intelligence agencies and the phenomenon itself.

Since I can't speak for the phenomenon and I am not privy to the modus operandi of the intelligence agencies, I can only speak to what I can see in terms of patterns of activity. Let's start with why the intelligence agencies pay any heed to this subject at all.

If some UFOs represent a nonhuman technology or consciousness, well then it doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that these unknown objects of unknown origin that are flying with impunity over American airspace are a national security concern. Now imagine your job is to defend American airspace and you are powerless to do so? Would you want to inform the American people that you suck at your job? Ego and pride are powerful components of the human experience but even above and beyond that are the societal implication of public confidence in Government. I could say much more about this angle but I will leave that for another post.

Now to the darker side of intelligence agency interest and this is the part that keeps me awake at night because it involves what I have come to term institutionalized deception. At some point soon after World War 2, a group of Americans who I am sure self labled themselves patriots, decided that UFOs could be used in psychological warfare against our perceived enemies. At the time, that was the Soviet Union. So they hatched a plan to make the Soviets think that UFOs were a new American weapon of war. Why? Keep reading.

One thing we Yanks learned from the Brits during the last great war was how to fib on a grand scale. Now of course, with the evil Nazi empire menacing the globe, such deception was a matter of survival. In a post WW2 world, the new threat of communist domination was also seen as struggle for survival. Unfortunately, these patriots took things a little too far, because in order to deceive our enemy, they decided that deceiving the American public would also be necessary.

Now your probably throwing your hands up in the air right now and screaming "Conspiracy Theory!" but before you make up your mind on this, I think you should read some of my research first. So download the paper I delivered at the recent MUFON Symposium from http://repositories.cdlib.org/sio/arch/carrion/. One thing to keep in mind, my research is far from over, and I will leave no stone unturned in my search for the truth.

Oh by the way, when you get to the part of my paper on Roswell, I am sure you will experience one of two things - either you will curse me again for bursting your bubble on the Roswell event or you will sit there and consider it a possibility. I have already seen the backlash from my paper on some Internet blogs and from comments I received at the Symposium. I am not going to bash anyone's opinions or beliefs, but will leave you with this - In Ufology there are no sacred cows and true progress comes from being willing to question what everyone else accepts as fact.

Since WW2, I believe that the intelligence agencies interest in the UFO subject has evolved as they have figured out how to squeeze more out of the subject to meet their own operational needs - societal control, disinformation, counterintelligence, psychological warfare, etc. are just some of the uses they have managed to extract from the field. Sometimes I think that we are a training ground for budding agency personnel..the thought being...practice on deceiving the Ufologists before you start deceiving the enemy.

So where does that leave the real phenomenon? Well, in a state of limbo, because we cannot get at the truth when the waters are constantly being muddied by these manipulators of truth. Finding the signal in so much noise is next to impossible. The intelligence agencies know this and if the signal starts coming through loud and clear, then they will just generate more noise to drown it out, and they will dig more rabbit holes to send us down.

So now that I think about it, the chess board analogy I used earlier is not entirely accurate, because "our" side of the chess board is trying to play by a set of rules that the other side is constantly changing. It reminds me of the American War of Independence where the Brits lined up their red coats in nice straight lines while we Yanks adopted guerilla tactics.

So what will the outcome of of this tit for tat, spy vs spy, cat and mouse, Ufologists vs intelligence operatives game be? As long as the value of deception outweights the risk of discovery and exposure, the game will continue. When enough critical minds cry foul and the game can no longer be played effectively, then it will come to an abrupt end, and heads will roll in Government. I hope I live to see that day so my son doesn't have to grow up in a society that our founding fathers would no longer recognize as a democracy by the people and for the people.

2006 - An Early Interview

2009-08-17T11:03:00.000-06:00

What follows is an interview I did with a Brazilian UFO Researcher back in 2006 soon after I became the MUFON International Director. Although my basic opinions have not changed, the last three years have opened my eyes about UFOs in a way that I would have never been able to experience otherwise.

Interview by Milton Frank, President of the Brazilian UfologyCenter with James Carrion, the new Director of the Mutual UFO Network.

1 - Why did you start to study and research ufology? Have youever seen a UFO? If so, how was your experience?

My interest in UFOs started when I was 11 years old. My mother used to subscribe to some of the major tabloid publications likethe National Enquirer which frequently reported on UFOs. Nowadays, most people dismiss any UFO stories in the tabloids as fiction, but back then the National Enquirer reporters like BobPratt did serious UFO investigations. I used to clip out these articles and collect them.

My family moved to Puerto Rico around this time and it was there that I had my first exposure to others interested in the subject. There was a local UFO group that was actively involved in going to El Yunque, Puerto Rico's national park and rain forest where they attempted to communicate and meet with alien species. Unfortunately, my father did not allow me to accompany the group as he believedthat UFOs were evil and demonic in nature. According to other group members, their communication attempts were successful. I was also interested in the Chupacabra activity and all of theLaguna Cartagena UFO sightings. Even to this day, Puerto Rico is a hotbed for UFO activity.

I left Puerto Rico to join the U.S. Army where I worked as a Russian Linguist and Signals Intelligence Analyst and I was stationed for two years in Augsburg, Germany. In 1987 I left the military and moved to Tallahassee, Florida to attend college. While living there, I became fascinated with the story of the Gulf Breeze six, a group of young soldiers that went AWOL from their base in Augsburg, Germany to search for UFOs in Gulf Breeze. All six of these soldiers were also military intelligence analysts (from a sister unit) and I was intrigued as to what would cause a group of young, intelligent and psychologically competent individuals (having achieved topsecret clearances with special background investigations) to pursue their quest while knowing they could face possible prison time and charges of treason. One of the Gulf Breeze six even attended the MUFON symposium that was being held in Pensacola at the time. That was the first time that I heard of MUFON.

In 1996 I moved to Greeley, Colorado with my wife Lisa so shecould attend graduate school at the University of Colorado. I quickly found myself attending the MUFON Denver meetings and joined MUFON soon after. I traveled with MUFON Colorado membersto the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Roswell incident and that same year I passed my MUFON investigator examand was assigned as state section directory for North Eastern Colorado. When I moved to Bellvue, Colorado, I vacated that position and took over as the North Western Colorado section director.

In 2003 I proposed to the board the Pandora Project, and after board approval, I completed the project in 2005. The project focused on digitizing all of MUFON's paper investigative files (some 13,000 of them) into keyword searchable Adobe PDF files. I believe, as Dr. Hynek did, that if we collect enough sighting data and put in the proper electronic format, we will start to see patterns emerge that we did not previously notice. My goal is to put together the largest UFO database in the world thatcan be easily accessed by our own research teams for data - mining purposes. To that end, I recently met with Dr. Mark Rodeghier to discuss adding CUFOS' files to the Pandora Project. After reviewing most of the files MUFON has amassed over theyears, I am in still in awe at the dedication and professionalism shown by many MUFON investigators who took their investigation work seriously and through obviously many hours of hard work, selfishly contributed quality data to this body ofknowledge. My goal is to make their efforts count.

In 2003 I was invited to participate in the MUFON reorganization meetings that resulted in the revised MUFON mission statement and goals, as well as the closing of the MUFON store front. I was asked to join the board soon after and have proudly served on it since.

I consider myself a skeptical believer in UFOs, skeptical fromthe point of view that I don't take a UFO sighting at face value, but believe that each case should be rigorously investigated with an open but scientifically discerning mind. At the same time, I believe that the UFO phenomenon is real, and although I have never had a UFO sighting myself, I can't discount the thousands upon thousands of sightings experienced by others. I also sincerely hope one day within my lifetime that UFOLOGY will be fully embraced by most mainstream scientists instead of being treated as a pseudo science and an object of ridicule, andthat MUFON will be the major catalyst in effectuating that change.

2 - What are the top 10 cases of World Ufology in your opinion?

Wow, this is tough, there are so many.
1. Roswell
2. Cash Landrum
3. Betty and Barney Hill Abduction
4. Delphos, Kansas landing
5. McMinnville Oregon photos
6. JAL Flight 1628
7. 1952 UFOs over Washington DC
8. 1976 Iran Incident
9. America West Airlines Flight 564
10. Shag Harbour

3 - Do you really believe that Ufology starts after 1947, or do you believe that before that there were any UFO cases on Earth?

I think UFOs have been with us since ancient times. If we posit that we are being visited by an extraterrestrial civilization, their interest in humanity and or the Earth could have started millennia ago. Although there is no conclusive proof, we can seeUFO like craft depicted in Renaissance paintings, cave drawings,etc as well as described in ancient written texts.

4 - What is the most important UFO case in the USA in your opinion? Why do you believe so?

Roswell, not because I necessarily agree with all of the conclusions drawn by other Ufologists, but because it singularlyhas probably generated the most public awareness of the UFO phenomenon.

5 - What are the most important points that a UFO researcherhas to learn to do a good job?

You must have a skeptical but open mind. It is important that you don't let your personal beliefs cloud your objectivity. You must have a high tolerance for ambiguity and be willing to change your views if the evidence is overwhelmingly in conflictwith those views.

6 - What would you say to an young man that intends to be aUFO researcher?

Second to the mystery of life after death, which we will all be privy to once we pass on, researching the UFO mystery is the most exciting and rewarding journey of exploration one can embark on while here on earth. Think of the implications for humanity of discovering the truth of "higher intelligences", especially if this causes us to stop seeing ourselves as Brazilians or Americans and instead as homo sapiens. I look at the constant violence and suffering experienced today by a large proportion of the human populace, the famine, political andreligious wars, rampant disregard for human rights, and wonder that if this higher intelligence and extraordinary technologieswere accessible to all of humanity, how the world's problems could be lessened or eliminated. At the same time, I worry aboutthe personal agendas these higher intelligences and lower intelligences (our governments) may have which may have little regard for the plight of humanity. MUFON's mission really sums it up: "The Scientific Study of UFOs for the benefit of humanity". If you are an altruistic individual that wants to better the plight of the world, studying UFOs is as important a contribution to our future as is any endeavor of science.

7 - What do you think about Ashtar Sheran? Do you believe in this story? Do you really believe that everything people say about Ashtar Sheran is true?

I think that the story of Ashtar Sheran is more a question ofspiritual belief and is no different than Christian belief in the return of Christ. If you choose to pursue this path, by all means do so as I respect all spiritual beliefs that promote improving the plight of humanity.

8 - Have you read about Brazilian ufology cases? What Brazilian cases do you know? What do you think about them?

I must confess that I have little knowledge of Brazilian UFOcases. The MUFON library has over 1000 books and I can't claim to have read a tenth of these. The UFO phenomenon is so vast,one quickly gets lost and overwhelmed by its vastness. I would like to learn more about Brazilian UFO cases and will probablystart with Bob Pratt's work in this area.

9 - What is your opinion about ufology's future?

The first 60 years of Ufology has been one of trying to grasp what the spectrum of UFO activity really encompasses. What started out as a nuts and bolts belief in extraterrestrial craft has expanded to craft occupants, then to the alien abduction phenomenon, cattle and human mutilations, crop circles, etc. Wehave no idea what strange twist we may experience next. I envy the "Ghost Busters" who go about their business without having to worry about the meddling of world governments cloakingtheir own activities through disinformation campaigns and denials.

As Ufologists we find ourselves fighting battles on two fronts; the phenomenon itself refusing to show itself on demand or through prediction (hence modern science's refusal to deal with its ambiguity) and the world's governments who have their own selfish reasons for concealing the truth of what they know.We have gathered data for 60 years and I think the raw data has a truth to reveal if we analyze the data in ways we have not attempted before. I believe that those in "the know" are afraid of what we may discover ourselves from the raw data and will stop at nothing to keep introducing red herrings to distract us from this analysis.

10 - How was your experience in research with Bob Pratt? Have you ever been in Brazil to research a Brazilian case with him?

I have never had the privilege to work with Bob Pratt, but I respect immensely the contributions he has made to Ufology

11 - I really would like you to give a message to The Brazilian Ufology Center. Right now we have 22.280 members, and theyreally would like to hear what you have to say to them.

I admire your open mindedness and dedication in this "journey of fools" as others would have you believe. You are on the rightpath and should you stray from time to time, don't worry as the mystery will beckon you back. Be true to your calling and disregard the ignorance and cynicism of others who are threatened by the implications of discovering the real truths behind the UFO phenomenon.

Your efforts are worthwhile and noble and like many of the mavericks of society, may not be appreciated in your lifetime, but one day will be honored byfuture generations. Keep the faith.I would love to go to Brazil in person one day and tread in the footsteps of Bob Pratt and others who have gone before. Bestwishes to you all.

The Mysterious Men in Black

2009-08-17T07:41:00.002-06:00

Well, this post title is a little misleading because it is not about who the Men in Black (MIB) are but more about my background and how I and most of my colleagues don't make up the ranks of these infamous and sinister whoevers.

You see, if you reach a position such as mine, the International Director of a UFO organization that has been around for 40 years, you automatically become the subject of insidious rumors and are by default labeled a Government Agent, Disinformer, Agent of Deception, etc. - in other words a Man in Black. Don't think it's true? Google Top Real Men in Black and you will find this article http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread334798/pg1 Now who should appear but yours truly along with former MUFON Directors Walt Andrus and John Schuessler. I guess we are in good company with the likes of Stanton Friedman, Robert Wood, J. Allen Hynek, etc. making this notorious list. My stated reason for being on the list? Because I had the gall to admit that I was an Intelligence Analyst at one point in my life...Gasp... tell the truth about your background and your cover is blown..

So since so many "anonymous" posters out there in La-La land (The Internet) have a field day with my credentials and take great literary license to carve it into the nasty image of their choosing, let me set the record straight on what my background really is and how far from a real Man In Black I am.

First, the basics. I was born in Chicago on October 22, 1965, the 4th of 6 children to Puerto Rican-Italian parents. I lived a quiet life in Illinois enjoying the changes of seasons for the first eleven years of my life before my father decided to uproot his family for the sake of returning to his own roots - so we moved to Puerto Rico in 1976. Talk about culture shock. I was thrown into a strange environment where I didn't speak the language, held back two school years in Puerto Rico's public school system to "catch up", and went from a middle class lifestyle to poverty.

I spent seven eye-opening years in this latin environment where I learned the language and did a lot of thinking about life and my future. After graduating from high school in Puerto Rico, I joined the U.S. Army to become a Russian Linguist/Military Intelligence Analyst. Basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, Misery, a year of language training in Monterey, California and three months of analyst training at Goodfellow Air Force base in San Angelo, Texas and I was then headed overseas to Augsburg, Germany for a real mission. I lived in Germany for two years from 1985-1987 working for US Army Intelligence and Security Command (INSCOM) listening in to the Soviets blab over the radio and other parts of the electro-magnetic spectrum. We were the gophers for the National Security Agency (NSA) providing them the intelligence they needed to know if the Soviets were up to something they shouldn't be, like overrunning Western Europe.

During my time in Germany, I had the honor of spending some time at a British Intelligence post in Holland and also was privileged to travel back to Fort Meade, Maryland, NSA HQs for a military exercise. Nothing James Bond about this job, just boring Intelligence gathering that involved pushing paper and keeping your mouth shut. Yes, I did have a Top Secret clearance that has been expired now for 12 years now.

I spent my leisure time taking night classes with the University of Maryland and managed to leave the Army after four years with almost enough credits for an Associates Degree. I transferred these credits to Florida State University where I enrolled in the fall of 1987. I also transferred to the Army Reserve and spent my weekend warrior days flying to Chicago for training or down to Key West. My reserve unit was an Air Intelligence unit and we flew small airplanes full of radio gear between Key West and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba so we could listen in on the Soviets and Cubans. More boring mundane Intelligence work, but it was thrilling to fly.

Two years of that work was enough and I was finally done with my military career. Now if every young soldier who had a similar career path as mine in the military is by default a Man In Black because they express an interest in UFOs, well then there is no hope, because you are outnumbered by these "elite" forces. I guess you note the sarcasm in my voice at such ridiculous assertions. Of course if you don't have a critical thought in your body, you never reached this point to make up your mind for yourself.

The next nine years of my life from 1987-1996 are really a blur. Work, school, work , school, work, school.... I managed to work full time at Florida State as a computer geek while knocking out my Bachelor's degree in Russian Language and my Master's degree in International Affairs.
Got married in 1991 and when my wife at the time decided she wanted to get her Masters at a Colorado school, we packed up and moved to Colorado in the fall of 1996.

So here is where my involvement with MUFON started. I had heard about MUFON previously but with everything else going on in my life had put UFO research on the backburner. Now here I was in Colorado, working as a freelance Computer Trainer and had time on my hands. So I started going to the MUFON state meetings, joined, and then became a certified Field Investigator, card signed by Walt Andrus. Michael Curta was the Colorado State Director at the time and I enjoyed the camraderie with these fine folks. In 1997, I traveled to Roswell with other MUFON-nites to the 50th anniversary celebration where I was privilged to meet or see some of the interesting folks involved in the UFO field like John Mack, Stanton Friedman, Phillip Corso, etc.

When the MUFON HQs relocated to Denver in 2000 and John Schuessler took over as International Director, I knew that I would become even more involved in the organization. I started to volunteer at MUFON HQ. One of the first thing I noticed were the rows and rows of file cabinets that lined MUFON HQ and contained MUFON's years of case files and other research. I made it my personal goal to open this archive to MUFON researchers and other interested parties by digitizing these files - the beginning of MUFON's Pandora Project. Of course a true Man In Black would have figured out a way to spirit these files to CIA HQ or into oblivion like the APRO files instead of adopting an openess policy.

After serving on the MUFON Board and helping redefine MUFON's mission and goals, I was given the unique opportunity of becoming MUFON International Director in 2006 when John decided to retire from his position. The rest is as we say history.

Well you made it this far in my very mundane story, all of which I can back up with documentation of known provenance, resumes, school records, etc. Of course, if you are so paranoid that you still think I am lying through my teeth and you believe that a Man In Black can forge any documentation that they want, and wish to think the same of me, well there is not much that will convince you and frankly I won't waste my time trying. Critical thinkers will see through the BS and the conspiracy theory and recognize me for who I really am - a truth seeker that works under two primary principles - truth and openness.

Welcome To Follow The Magic Thread

2009-08-17T02:53:00.004-06:00

Welcome to my blog.

My name is James Carrion and this blog was set up specifically to document and educate the public on my personal research into the subject of UFOs with my main focus being on the role of Government in this field. The Internet is a hotbed of rumor and innuendo especially as it relates to UFOs and other related phenomena and it is easy to get lost or misled in this labyrinth of information. My hope is that this will be a safe haven for critical minds and a guidebook for navigating the labyrinth of the UFO Subject while maintaining one's sanity.

In Greek mythology, the Minotaur was a creature with the head of a bull and the body of a man that lived in a Labyrinth. The Minotaur was killed by Theseus when Ariadne, the daughter of Minos, fell in love with Theseus and saved his life by giving him a ball of thread that he could unravel through the labyrinth so he could retrace his path out.

There is an ultimate truth to the UFO Phenomenon, but it will require that like Theseus you unravel a magic thread along your own journey so you can retrace your steps through the UFO labyrinth and emerge with a sound mind and with that ultimate truth in hand.