More Retro UFO Photos!

Nick Redfern, Brittany Babakioff and yours truly at Giant Rock.


Nick Redfern hands me a beer. Unfortunately, at least in terms of my reputation in some quarters as a "playboy wannabe", the beer was a Corona Lite!


Zorgy and I answer questions after the screening of Best Evidence. Oddly enough, nobody asked any questions about the theory that the Roswell case can be explained as US Navy dirigibles or blimps that were misidentified, or the theory that the Kenneth Arnold sighting can be explained as a group of test jet airplanes that magically time traveled back to 1947. Go figure.

Paul Kimball

Oh Canada!

A couple of years ago I angered some UFO aficionados when, during a three hour appearance on Coast to Coast, I had the temerity to make note of the fact that the Edmonton Oilers had just scored in a semi-final game in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Egads! A few folk were astonished that I would step away from talking about UFOs for a second to mention hockey... little did they know that I was watching the game on television from my Los Angeles hotel room for most of the interview!

I say this as fair warning, because what follows has nothing to do with UFOs, or anything paranormal.

For the past few days I've had the opportunity to catch some games at the World Hockey Championships, which are being held here in Halifax and in Quebec City. Now, not all of the best players in the world are here - some, like Canadian Sidney Crosby and Russian Evgeni Malakov, are still playing in the NHL playoffs. But many of the world's best are present, most of them from NHL teams that have lost already in the NHL playoffs, or who didn't make the playoffs.

On Thursday I saw Canada squeak by Norway 2-1 (the Norwegian goaltender practically stood on his head to keep it close); on Saturday I caught Canada as they trounced Germany 10-1. The best game, by far, was this evening's tilt between Canada and Finland. The final score was 6-3 in favour of Canada, but the Finns outshot the home squad, and generally outplayed them for much of the game. In short, Canada was a bit lucky to win by such a large margin, and the Finns were a worthy foe.

Why does this matter? In the grander scheme of things, I suppose it doesn't, but sometimes the "grander scheme of things" needs to be set aside so that we can enjoy the finer things in life - which to a Canadian includes hockey! Indeed, sitting five rows behind me today was our Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, who is a huge hockey fan, along with the Premier of Nova Scotia, Rodney MacDonald. What makes Canada special - no offense here to any American readers - is that our leader can spend an entire game sitting not in some luxury box, but amidst the crowd, surrounded by security, to be sure, but not so much security as to separate him from the masses. Indeed, there were no metal detectors or anything else at the game - folks just showed their tickets and walked in. Harper also graciously spent both intermissions posing for pictures with anyone who wanted them (and there were dozens and dozens of people lined up to do so), something you don't see an American president do very often.

The highlights of the day for me (besides the good company I was with) were getting to sing along with 10,000 other folks as they played "Oh Canada" while they raised our flag over the ice (that's the flag raising ceremony in the photo below), and getting to see the great Teemu Selanne play for Finland - that's the Finnish Flash in the photo above) - he really is as fast in person as he appears on television!

None of this will change the world, of course, which seems to anger some die-hard UFO-believers, who are all about changing the world (new paradigms, and all of that) but who fail to understand that the world is not as bad as they think it is, and if it was sometimes you need a diversion to lighten your day, or remind you of the things that you share with everyone else. That's not "bread and circuses" - that's being human. If there are aliens visiting Earth, I suspect they spend as much time watching these games as we do, if for no other reason than to learn about how we interact with each other. I bet they secretly root for Team Canada too!



For Canadians, one of those shared things is the love of hockey... and I was happy to share that "true patriot love" with 10,000 very vocal Canucks (and a few Finns too!) this evening!

Paul Kimball

Redfern and Tonnies at Culture of Contact; Korff in some other reality

Mac Tonnies and Nick Redfern are now writing new blogs for Jeremy Vaeni's Culture of Contact. You can read Nick's here, and Mac's here.

Meanwhile, Kal Korff continues to rail against reality on YouTube:



Whatever happened to that 500 book deal... or the television series - as in, you know, a series that actually airs on television?

In this clip, his breakdown gets worse (if that's possible):



Aw, never mind. Just stick with Mac and Nick, and you'll be fine.

Paul Kimball

Ufology and Perspective

Three years ago, a well-known ufologist sent me a de-classified Top Secret memo from 1947 that read as follows:

16 December 1947

MEMORANDUM FOR DR. BUSH:

Subject: Preparation Against a Sneak Attack

1. At the meeting of the War Council on 18 December the following decision was reached:

Secretary Forrestal appointed a committee consisting of Dr. Bush, Mr. Souers, and General Gruenther, with Dr. Bush as chairman, to examine this problem in all its facets, particularly its relation to civil defense. This committee is to render a report covering the best manner of handling these problems from an organizational standpoint.

2. Your committee will be considered a committee of the War Council, and his office is prepared to furnish such personnel, funds, and other forms of assistance as may be required in the prosecution of the committee's work. As in the case of all committees of the War Council, your committee will be authorized to call on all agencies under the Secretary of Defense for such assistance as the committee may from time to time require.

3. I recognize that the problem before your committee is a difficult one and that it will require some time for you to prepare any recommendations. At the same time, I would appreciate it if you would keep the War Council periodically advised as to the progress which is being made.

JOHN H. OHLY
Special Assistant to the Secretary

Now, if you were to show this to anyone outside ufology even remotely familiar with the time period, they would no doubt tell you that the meeting was clearly designed to deal with a sneak attack from the Soviet Union, which is what all American defense planning was focused on in 1947, a very turbulent year at the beginning of the Cold War, where the risk of a "hot war" was very real indeed (see the Wikipedia entry for that period for a reasonably good summary of events).

The ufologist who sent this to me, however, saw it differently, as seen by the fact that he wrote "by whom?" in the margin next to the phrase "Preparation Against a Sneak Attack" - the implication being that the meeting may have been discussing a sneak attack by aliens, not the Soviets.

This... "interpretation" (to be kind) shows a complete lack of historical perspective and understanding. It also shows a ufologist who is sadly typical, particularly amongst the "Cosmic Watergate" group, i.e. one who is less concerned with logic, reason, and the truth, than he / she is about fitting everything into their very small "it's all about Roswell / ET / conspiracy" box. You can see the most recent manifestation of this way of "thinking" this week in Steven Bassett's paranoid ranting about how Google has censored his "open letter" to Senator Hillary Clinton (see here for the text of Bassett's press release).

This is what the ET / conspiracist types do - they filter everything through their own myopic world view. Unfortunately, this is the point of view that gets reported most often in the mainstream media, not because they are part of some over-arching conspiracy, but because the conspiracists themselves are the people amongst all UFO researchers who yell the loudest, and so therefore attract the most attention.

This is bad history, pure and simple - the kind that would get a person flunked out of a 1st year university course. But in the wacky world of ufology, it often passes as received wisdom from on high... which is a sad but telling state of affairs.

Paul Kimball

Even More Retro UFO 3 Pics!

And the hits just keep on coming!

Tim Cridland, aka Zamora the Torture King, tries to set the Integratron on fire!


One of the last surviving Contactees, Bob Short, conducts a reading in the vendor's tent.

Still More Retro UFO 3 pics

Yours truly answering questions in the Integratron after the screening of Best Evidence.

The ceiling of the second floor at the Integratron.



Rear Admiral Zorgrot at the motel.



The Integratron and Tim Cridland, aka Zamora the Torture King, as he prepares for his Saturday evening show.



The contestants in the tin foil hat contest.

More Retro UFO 3 pics

Here are a few more pics from Retro UFO 3...

Nick Redfern renews his friendship with alien explorer Rear Admiral Zorgrot.



The mighty Integratron! From left to right are Guy Malone, Barbara Harris, and Robert Short.



Yours truly on the second floor of the Integratron, experiencing a "sound bath"!



Nick Redfern demonstrates how mad dogs and Elnglishmen beat the desert heat!



Nick Redfern takes a walk across the compound with his ever-present "bag of swag" (i.e. food and water).



Brittany Babakioff works on her tin foil hat. That's Chica Bruce in the background.



Fun in the California sun!

Paul Kimball

Retro UFO 3 - Recap

On April 26th and 27th Alien Worlds Magazine columnist Brittany Babakioff and I attended the Retro UFO 3 conference at the Integratron, in Landers, California, along with fellow cabal members Nick Redfern and Greg Bishop, and assorted other UFO and conspiracy authors and researchers, including Kenn Thomas and Adam Gorightly.

Conference organizer Barbara Harris put on a great show, and is to be commended for persevering even though pre-conference registrations were low. In the end, about 60 hardy souls braved the desert heat and made their way out for the two days of talks, screenings, and fun.

As with all UFO conferences, some of the presenters were on the wacky side, so I'll follow my dad's old dictum that if you can't say anything nice about anyone, best not to say anything at all. For my money, Retro UFO 3 was worth attending for the following reasons:

1. It was held at the Integratron, which is an important piece of not just ufological history but American cultural history - as a bonus, attendees could also venture out to Giant Rock, which is about 3 miles away, another landmark of ufological history, regardless of what one might think of the original Contactees, particularly George Van Tassel;

2. One had the chance to hear my good friends Nick Redfern and Greg Bishop deliver the kind of no-nonsense lectures that should be the rule, and not the exception, at UFO conferences.

Nick always gives an interesting and entertaining talk, and this time it was no different as he provided an informative overview of how and why the various intelligence agencies kept an eye on the leaders of the Contactee movement in the 1950s and 1960s (much of the lecture was based on material found in Nick's excellent book, On the Trail of the Saucer Spies). Nick also added a couple of interesting anecdotes about his own brushes with the intel agencies over the years, including Scotland Yard.

Nick is always hard to top, but at Retro UFO 3 it was Greg Bishop who gave the best lecture. As far as I'm concerned, Greg is the most underrated UFO researcher and author out there - he's thorough, knowledgeable, and thought-provoking, all while managing to avoid the petty infighting that sometimes distracts the rest of us. At Retro UFO 3 he provided the audience with a fascinating and eclectic overview of the alternate theories to the Extraterrestrial Hypothesis, from time travel to tulpas, and cryptoterrestrials to extradimensional beings, all while acknowledging the validity of the ETH as a hypothesis, but criticizing those who put it forward as an established and proven fact.

Other highlights of the conference were Ken Thomas' talk on legendary comic-book artist Jack Kirby's ties to the CIA and his role in the Iranian hostage crisis (Kenn's re-hash of the Maury Island hoax, in which he tried to tie it to the JFK assassination, would make a good Oliver Stone film, but stretched credibility beyond any reasonable breaking point, although it was well delivered), and a wild late-night show by Zamora the Torture King which featured fire-breathing and... well, what can only be described as self-torture, including a routine where Nick, Greg and Adam were conscripted from the audience to help Zamora (aka Tim Cridland) prove that mind really does trump matter where a bed of nails is concerned! Also, Nick Redfern demonstrated a real McGyver-like sense of ingenuity at the Friday evening party back at the motel where he managed to slice limes with a car key, and Brittany was 100% game when it came time to participate in the Tin Foil Hat contest on Sunday... as was a certain alien explorer named Zorgrot!



All in all, Retro UFO 3 was a smashing good time. Hopefully Barbara will hold a Retro UFO 4 next year, and hopefully more people will show up, because if you're even remotely interested in the UFO phenomenon, particularly the sociological and historical aspects, you should really try to make it out to the Integratron and Giant Rock at least once, and you should take every opportunity you can get to hear the likes of Nick and Greg speak, because they are among the best UFO researchers out there.

A final note - keep an eye on Brittany Babakioff, who impressed everyone at Retro UFO 3 with her energy, her enthusiasm, and most importantly her intelligent approach to the UFO phenomenon. If ufology is looking for the next wave, it starts with her.

Paul Kimball

P.S. Here are a few more pics from the conference!


Brit takes photos for Alien Worlds Magazine.



Nick takes photos for the CIA!

Kenn Thomas and Adam Gorightly discuss various conspiracies.


Inside the Integratron, where many of the lectures were held, and where Best Evidence was screened.



Nick Redfern and Adam Gorightly at the opening ceremony.

Yours truly at the opening ceremony.


Greg and Nick relaxing in the vendors tent.

UFO Celebrity Death Match - Results!

Here are the results from last night's UFO Celebrity Death Match extravaganza, which Greg Bishop and I called live for the UFO Radio Network, aka Radio Misterioso, which can be heard every Sunday evening from Midnight to 2 am AST on Kill Radio.

Match #1
Wild Bill Cooper vs. Marshall Applewhite: Cooper won this match, and the vacant World UFO Title belt, after Applewhite committed suicide just as the bout was about to start. Unfortunately, Cooper then opened fire on security personnel, and after a prolonged gun battle was killed. The Title belt was declared vacant again, and a series of elimination bouts ensued.

Elimination Bout #1
Nick Redfern vs. Mac Tonnies - Redfern won after he dragged Tonnies to a mosh pit and kicked his ass, punk rock style.

Elimination Bout #2
Art Bell vs. George Noory - Bell took this bout by default, as Noory couldn’t make it through the throng of angry Bell fans that had surrounded the arena.

Elimiation Bout #3
Bill Birnes vs. Stuart Miller - Birnes took this match of UFO-related magazine publishers. Despite the fact that Stuart was persistent, and kept getting up after being knocked down, Birnes just played dirtier and dirtier, until he finally managed to use a set of brass knuckles masquerading as reverse-engineered alien technology to knock Miller out.

Elimination Bout #4
Kevin Randle vs. Don Ecker - Randle took this prolonged battle of military vets, using some new weapons hidden at ringside that he had acquired while serving in Iraq.

Elimination Bout #5
Kal K. Korff vs. Michael Horn - This was a classic between two people who have no grasp on reality: Horn, the most ardent defender of the Billy Meier hoax, and Korff, the most ardent opponent (i.e. the only person who still cares). Korff ultimately used his size advantage (physical and ego) and some outside interference from his Israeli super-spy buddies to get the duke over Horn… who then proceeded to claim that his defeat was proof that the Meier case was real.

Elimination Bout #6
Tim Binnall vs. Jeremy Vaeni - Binnall took this return bout between podcast hots (Binnall torched Vaeni in the 2007 Zorgy Award voting) after an amusing battle that saw Binnall enlist the aid of some transvestites. After the battle, Vaeni retired to the nearest hot tub.

Elimination Bout #7
Stanton T. Friedman vs. Seth Shostak - The cagey veteran Friedman pinned Shostak, who came to the ring dressed as a Sleestak from Land of the Lost, after he polled the pro-Friedman crowd and obtained a 70% approval rating versus 30% for Shostak.

Elimination Bout #8
Steven Greer vs. Reality - This was perhaps the most exciting match of the night. Reality had a big advantage going in, but Greer slowly but surely undermined Reality at every turn, until Reality started to lose confidence in itself. It was at that point that Greer pulled out an alien baby, which used some strange foreign substance to stun Reality, which Greer followed with his patented “Disclosure Bomb” for the pin.

After this match, Greer easily defeated the other elimination bout winners in a battle royal, with Nick Redfern being the final contender to be eliminated over the top rope, to be declared the winner…

But then, just as he was about to accept the Title belt, Cooper and Applewhite returned as Zombies in an unholy alliance to challenge Greer to a handicapped match. Greer, perhaps cocky after his defeat of Reality, accepted, and the Zombies entered the ring. Greer immediately took both Zombies in his hands and lifted them over his head, in preparation for the delivery of The Disclosure Bomb. At this point, the Zombies Cooper and Applewhite revealed their devious plan - they had allowed Greer to lift them over his head, which positioned them perfectly to chomp into his BRAINS! As Greer spun them around, they struck… only to find that Greer had no BRAINS!!!

The stunned Zombies were then disposed of by the patented Disclosure Bomb, and Greer was declared undisputed Celebrity UFO Death Match world champion.

Paul Kimball

Radio Misterioso tonight

Just a short note to let folks know that I'll be hanging out with Greg Bishop on Radio Misterioso this evening, from 8 pm to 10 pm PST (that's Midnight to 2 am AST for my East Coast friends). You can tune in here - we'll be playing the usual weird and wacky music, and discussing Retro UFO 3, other UFO-related stuff, and playing Celebrity Ufologist Death Match, where we'll examine what would happen if two ufologists were placed in a steel cage and forced to fight to the death... or the rhetorical equivalent thereof!

Don't miss it!

Paul Kimball

On Hiatus again

I leave for Los Angeles on the 21st, and I'll be away until the 6th of May. I have a lot of work to do before then, so I'm putting the blog on hiatus until I get back, at which time I'll finish the "Seven Wonders of the UFO World" countdown, and report on Retro UFO 3, where I'll be speaking and screening Best Evidence on the 26th and 27th - of you're anywhere near Yucca Valley, California, come on out and join the fun!

Paul Kimball

Brittany Babakioff

There's a newcomer to the world of ufology, whom I've mentioned here once or twice before, that you should keep an eye on - Brittany Babakioff, a young music student from Nelson, British Columbia. I just received issue 2 of Stuart Miller's fab magazine, Alien Worlds, and therein is a column called The Younger Generation, with an article entitled "Spaced Out... or Left Out?" by Brittany.

Here is an excerpt, as she talks about why people are sometimes unwilling to consider what UFOs might mean:

I can understand the fear that could accompany this. The changes we'd have to make on our views of our place in the universe, and the damage it could do to our egos as we discover, in a second Copernican revolution, that we are not the center of all creation. In a couple of cases, I've heard of and spoken with people who've had encounters with UFOs and prefer to believe they're delusional, or even losing their minds, than to believe what they've actually seen. And not just out of fear, but also because they feel they're alone. These stories were coming from people my age - students in their early twenties.

Remember where you heard it first, folks - Ms. Babkioff is someone who has a great deal to contribute to the intelligent discussion of the UFO phenomenon, from a generation that has been largely left out of that discussion... until now.

Paul Kimball

PK on Anomaly Radio, Thursday April 17th

I'll be on the Precognitive Dissonance radio show Thursday night with hosts Craig York and SMiles Lewis, from 8 to 9 pm EST.

Paul Kimball

Seven Wonders of the UFO World: #7 - Rendlesham Forest

If the real world can have "Seven Wonders", then I figure the world of UFOs can have Seven Wonders - places that everyone interested in the subject of UFOs should visit before they shuffle off of this mortal coil. With that said, let's begin the countdown with...

#7
Rendlesham Forest
United Kingdom

Not only is Rendlesham Forest the site of one of the most famous UFO cases of the 20th century (it was voted #3 in my film Best Evidence), but it's also a genuinely creepy place that has supposedly been home to all sorts of other weird incidents, from devil dogs to ghosts. Make your way to the charming town of Woodbridge, and then grab a cab out to the Forest, where there is a UFO walking trail that takes you past the key places from the classic 1980 case, including the old Bentwaters airbase. As I said, the Forest is still very spooky, even if it isn't the same as it was at the time of the UFO incident due to damage wrought by a subsequent hurricane. The wind whistles through the trees, and it's no stretch to say that if you're there anytime near dusk you don't want to be alone! Even better, if you get lucky like I did when I was there in May, 2006, you'll get buzzed by a black helicopter, which will come in low and tight over the treetops - the sound echoes throughout the Forest as it approaches, which was actually pretty unnerving.

There's a nice campground right next to the Forest that can serve as an overnight place to stay near all of the action for the really adventurous. Who knows - if you wander into the Forest at night, maybe you'll run into whatever Charles Halt and his men ran into almost three decades ago!

Paul Kimball

Kimball of Contact

I did a lengthy interview with Jeremy Vaeni last night for his next Culture of Contact podcast, which will be available Tuesday evening, April 15th, sometime around 8 pm EST.

If you're looking for serious discussion about the UFO phenomenon, it's probably not the show for you... although we get into that at the end a bit. Instead it's a Jim Moseley-style free-for-all about the good, the bad and the ugly in that fascinating subculture known as "ufology" (and sometimes, with good reason, "ufoology"). The general thrust from me was that the serious study of the UFO phenomenon is something completely different from the three-ringed circus that is "ufology", and that the study of each has merit, albeit for different reasons.

Topics covered include:

1. the Billy Meier hoax (and the ongoing antics of Michael Horn, his chief apologist);

2. the UFO Hunters television series, and why it's not really about UFOs;

3. the recent Alfred Lehmberg - Daniel Brenton feud (the WWE should really consider hiring Alfred as a writer - and I mean that as a compliment);

4. some ruminations on my friend the late Karl Pflock, and why he was one of the best - and most misunderstood - UFO researchers of the past twenty years;

5. a discussion of the contactee movement from the 1950s and 1960s; and

6. a recounting of my tete-a-tete with X-Conference orgaziner Stephen Bassett in the Aquarius Casino bar back in February while I was there for the International UFO Convention and Film Festival, and why I think Bassett means well but is doomed to failure.

All this, and news about Jeremy's new film project. It's a "not-to-be-missed" episode that is guaranteed to infuriate all sorts of people... and maybe even enlighten a few.

Paul Kimball

R.I.P. Charlton Heston

Sure, he was perhaps best known as Moses, or maybe for Planet of the Apes, but for me Heston's best role was in Orson Welles' classic Touch of Evil.



The opening sequence is simply amazing... great work by Welles, and by Heston, two giants of film, now both gone to that great repertory cinema in the sky.

Paul Kimball

Triangle UFO footage

Did my camera crew and I capture footage of a triangle-shaped UFO in 2001 near Roswell, New Mexico? You be the judge:



Compare and contrast with this supposed footage of one of the famous Belgian triangle craft:



We were filming without sound, which is why you don't hear anything, when we caught our craft on video.

Paul Kimball

Musical Interlude #1

And now, for a brief musical interlude:



Love that song!

Paul Kimball

Weird Coincidences, Vol. I

In 2007, a preliminary injunction motion came before the United States District Court for the Southern District of California in the case of Allen v. Ghoulish Gallery. The case itself was related to a copyright case which involved Tim Turner, a Hollywood effects artist working in the "haunt industry". What makes this a "weird coincidence" is the identity of the attorney representing Turner, given the case name and subject matter - it was none other than Bela G. Lugosi, the son of legendary Dracula star Bela Lugosi!

Small world...

Paul Kimball

The Dark Side of Internet Forums and UFOs

The Internet is rife with forums that deal with various paranormal subjects, including the UFO phenomenon. While the vast majority of people who frequent these chat groups and message boards are good, sincere people, there is danger lurking there as well - especially when it's impossible to know who most of these people really are, because they usually use pseudonyms. It is especially dangerous for children who might wander by, and become involved with someone with bad intentions who uses their interest in the paranormal as a way of getting close to them. Ernst Zundel used to do this - he used young people's interest in UFOs as a way of luring them into his web of neo-Nazi hate (note: much of the bunk spread about Nazi UFO bases at the South Pole was propagated by Zundel). There have been other, even more egregious examples, however. One such case is that of Richard Romero.

In 1995, the then 36-year-old Romero "met" a 12-year-old boy in a "chat room" on the Internet devoted to UFOs and extraterrestrials. Romero posed first as a 15-year- old boy, then as his 20-year-old brother. He exchanged e-mails and phone calls with the 12 year-old throughout 1995 and into 1996. He said his father had been killed by government agents because he knew too much about UFOs. He asked the boy to join him in a mission to uncover secrets about aliens and UFOs. During the summer of 1995 Romero and the boy frequently exchanged letters and e-mails. The boy told Romero he was seeing a psychiatrist for Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), that he was adopted, and that his parents were too restrictive and did not understand him. Romero sympathized with the boy's situation and told him that he, too, was adopted and having trouble with his parents. By the end of the summer the boy considered Romero to be his best friend.

Eventually, in March of 1996, Romero convinced the boy to run away with him. On March 14, 1996, Romero flew to Chicago and checked into the Ramada Inn under the name Ricardo Romero. The next morning the boy left for school but went instead to the Ramada Inn to meet Romero. After they met, Romero called a taxi to take them to the bus station. He told the boy not to talk to the taxi driver. At the bus station he purchased two one-way tickets to Florida with cash. He told the boy not to talk to anyone or draw attention to himself while they waited for the bus. Romero told the boy that it would be best for him to live in Florida and not return to his parents.

The two boarded a bus in Chicago bound for St. Petersburg. Some quick investigative work by the local police and the FBI foiled the trip, as Romero and the boy were intercepted at the Greyhound bus station in Louisville, Kentucky. Romero was eventually charged with four crimes: kidnaping and transporting a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity for inveigling the boy to leave his home and travel to Kentucky; traveling in interstate commerce for the purpose of engaging in a sexual act with a juvenile based on his trip from Florida to Illinois; and obstructing justice because of subsequent efforts to get people in Florida to destroy evidence of his interest in child pornography.

Romero was eventually convicted on the obstruction of justice, kidnapping and transportation charges. He was sentenced to 327 months in prison, a decision upheld on appeal.

Is Romero's case unique? Alas, no - there are others. Because the UFO subject tends to attract people who have a propensity to... suspend disbelief, it will always attract people who will use that fact to further their own nefarious purposes, whether it's neo-Nazi hate-mongers like Ernst Zundel, or sexual predators like Richard Romero. The anonymity that the Internet provides creates the perfect place for these people to lay their traps, which is why parents should carefully monitor their children's usage of a computer, and their participation in UFO and paranormal related forums and groups. There is also a responsibility on forum owners and moderators to keep an eye on message traffic, and look for patterns or behaviour that might be suspicious.

This is not to say that people shouldn't participate - even children - because most people on-line are good people. But one should always proceed with caution. Sadly, where anonymous internet users are concerned, the old X-Files mantra of "trust no one" is a good baseline piece of advice.

Paul Kimball

New Age Paul!

Yours truly, trying to find a vortex in Sedona, Arizona.

Alas, no luck - but I did have a great dinner that night at a wonderful Mexican restaurant!

Paul Kimball

Retro UFO 3

Just a reminder that Retro UFO 3 is just a few weeks away. If you're going to be anywhere near southwestern California, make sure you come out and catch all of the great speakers, including Nick Redfern, Adam Gorightly, and Greg Bishop. I'll be there screening Best Evidence, and answering questions afterwards. Also in attendance will be newly-minted Alien Worlds Magazine columnist Brittany Babakioff.

Who knows - maybe some aliens will show up at Giant Rock!

Paul Kimball

Alien Worlds Magazine #2

Now available on the newstand (or, as always, by subscription), Alien Worlds Magazine, Issue #2. My "Above and Beyond" column discusses Roswellism, and why ufology needs to move beyond it in order to make any progress, a theme I've touched upon here in the past. Here's a brief excerpt:

For over three decades, the subject of UFOs has been pushed to the fringe of polite conversation because of two separate, but in many respects similar, problems – what I have called “The Condon Effect”, and what I have called “Roswellism”. One is an attack on the seriousness of the subject from outside, and one is a self-inflicted wound.

You can also find a bright new light in the ufological firmament, British Columbia native Brittany Babakioff, who embarks on her career as a ufologist with a column about the youth perspective on ufology. Also, an article by my good friend Nick Redfern, who is still on the trail of the saucer spies, and an interview with Dr. Jeffrey Bennett, who has a B.A. in Biophysics from the University of California and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Astrophysics from the University of Colorado... and an interest in UFOs.

As usual, great stuff from Stuart Miller and the best mag out there on the subject of UFOs, extraterrestrial life, and what might be "out there". Don't accept any substitutes!

Paul Kimball

Department 47

A forum well worth checking out is Department 47. It's still small enough that you won't get lost in the shuffle, and they even have a Philip J. Klass Memorial Forum, where you can say whatever you like! The vast majority of members are nice folks, and they have some interesting discussions.

If you want to see something really amusing, check out the couple of threads that deal with the Billy Meier hoax , where Michael Horn experienced yet another message forum meltdown.

Paul Kimball

UFOs & Municipal politics

What happens when small town municipal politics and UFOs meet?

In 1997, in the city of Horseshoe Bend (pop. 2,271), Arkansas, Ruth Parks was elected the city recorder / treasurer, where she served with Mayor Robert Spear, who was elected to a four year term in January 1999. While the relationship between the two elected officials began well, a rift developed after a dispute over the city's contract for ambulance services. Parks expressed disagreement with the mayor on other policy issues, as well.

Shortly after the ambulance service disagreement, one of Spear's friends, David Perkins, began to drive by Parks's home at a high rate of speed, honking his horn. Parks believed that Spear had directed Perkins to undertake this annoying practice, and reported the incidents to Spear and Police Chief Fred Mitchell. Mitchell had Parks file an affidavit in support of an arrest warrant for Perkins, and Perkins was arrested for harassment. The state court entered a no contact order prohibiting Perkins from continuing the conduct. Nonetheless, Perkins continued to drive past Parks's home, honking his horn.

Perkins was tried in state court on the harassment charge; the state court also considered whether Perkins violated the no contact order. At trial, Parks and her husband, Arlon Parks, testified. During cross examination, Parks was asked if she believed in unidentified flying objects (UFOs), whether she had ever seen a UFO, and whether she had been abducted by a UFO. She testified that she believed in UFOs, and had seen them in the past. She stated she had never been abducted by aliens. The defense attorney asked Mr. Parks similar questions. Mr. Parks testified he believed in UFOs, but had never seen one. He denied he had been abducted by aliens, but stated his wife had been abducted by aliens, commenting that she had scars to prove it.

The trial court found Perkins not guilty of harassment, but concluded Perkins had violated the no contact order and held Perkins in contempt of court.

The local newspaper, The News, reported on the Perkins trial. Janice Fae Mitchell, the wife of Police Chief Mitchell and a member of The News staff, authored an article about the Perkins trial that was published in the The News. In the article, Ms. Mitchell recounted the testimony regarding UFOs. Specifically, the article noted that both Ruth and Arlon Parks testified that they believe in UFOs and had seen them in the past. It said they each denied having been abducted by aliens, but noted Mr. Parks's testimony that he believed his wife had been abducted by aliens.

Parks sued. She didn't challenge the accuracy of the article's account of the UFO testimony, but instead claimed the article, and others written by Ms. Mitchell about the Perkins controversy, were defamatory and designed to make her look foolish.

During the Perkins controversy, The News published a letter to the editor written by Parks. Underneath the letter, The News ran a cartoon lampooning Parks. Parks alleged the cartoon, which was published without attribution, was drawn by Police Chief Mitchell, although she never provided a factual basis for this assertion.

Subsequent to the Perkins controversy, Parks ran for re-election for recorder/ treasurer. Two candidates ran against her: Charles "Chuck" Simmons and Ann Shaw. Parks alleges Spear selected Simmons to run against her to silence her. Simmons, then the court clerk for the City of Horseshoe Bend, won the election, with Shaw receiving the second highest number of votes.

Parks filed a lawsuit in which she alleged that Spear, Simmons, the City and the Mitchells violated her constitutional rights by conspiring to prevent her re-election in retaliation for her vocal opposition to Mayor Spear. Parks claims the events described above were part of the alleged conspiracy.

The case was summarily dismissed, a decison upheld on appeal.

Only in America...

Paul Kimball