At the time I wrote this column the "Serpo" business was the current flavor of the week. Gee, you must wonder, sometimes, just where peoples minds are.
Decker
I Get the Last Word
By Don Ecker
From March 2006
Because of a number of changes the last several months my column has been on hiatus, but I’m back so lets get on with it.
In the almost 20 years that I’ve been involved in UFO research the two areas that have caused me to maintain my interest have been cases involving the US military and cases that have occurred in space involving NASA or other space faring nations. These cases, when they become known to the research field, are usually the most reliable cases that are truly unknown. The above was reaffirmed when I considered what seems to be the most prevalent topics of discussion now in the UFO “research” arena.
I suppose I may sound (or read) like a broken record about current “research” or UFO discussions now, but because of what is now in the for front I yearn for yesteryear. I yearn for the work of the likes of Donald Keyhoe, Larry Fawcett and Barry Greenwood, even J. Allen Hynek, but instead we are hit with the fuzzy thinking by the likes of Steve Greer, Bill Hamilton and Linda Howe. What happened to genuine in-depth nuts and bolts research, exploring a real phenomena instead of the day-dreaming we get now discussing science fiction like “Project Serpo” as released by “Anonymous.” What is so distressing to me is the fact that there is not one single shred of any kind of evidence what-so-ever, yet hordes of people are jumping into the debate as if this could be real. Why am I so sure that this is more hokum and bunkum poured into a field that for almost 60 years has been at least 95% hokum and bunkum? Well, actually I think this is a pretty easy answer.
Lets play a little game and call it the “hypothesize” game. For the sake of argument lets pretend that elements of the U.S. government had contact with an extraterrestrial culture and in the 1960’s worked out a top secret deal to send human representatives to their planet. Then, according to “Anonymous” the big “G” picks 10 men and two women, and OFF THEY GO to the “Eben” planet in the Zeta Reticular Star System. Hot Damn! And how did we find out about this? Well, Anonymous told us! As depicted in the last issue of UFO Magazine. But wait! There is more. This information was relayed to us from one Victor Martinez via one Richard Doty. The same Richard Doty from AFOSI who was involved, oh so many years ago, in the Paul Benewitz disinformation campaign. Remember Benewitz? The fellow who ended up in a mental hospital, reportedly driven bonkers by a disinformation scheme directed by AFOSI, as reported to the UFO community by Bill Moore in 1989. But I digress.
So, still “hypothesizing” our intrepid travelers, at least some of them, returned in 1978 and were duly sent off to various military bases and kept isolated until at least 1984. Wow! And how do we “KNOW” all this? Why, “Anonymous” told us of course. And UFOs being what they are today, lots of folks will want to accept this because they believe!
Speaking of believing, I’ve spent a bit of time up on the Project Serpo website. I’ve plowed through the pages and hit upon this photograph that was touted as probably an actual photo of an alien being. (See EBE-1) Next to the photograph is this remark by an alleged “military archivist” who is supposed to have handled ET photographs. "I have seen two different kinds of ETs from crashes, and this is definitely one of them. It could very well be him. I am not 100% sure, but I'd bank on it."
When I really took a close look at the alleged alien, it looked VERY familiar. Then I looked up at my bookcase and saw what could have been the subject of the picture. A styrofoam bust of an alien created by special effects artist Steve Neill, who gave it to me over 10 years ago. (See MyEBE-02) Oops! Even his rib cage is identical.
I don’t know, maybe “Anonymous” will turn up at the next press briefing put on by Steve Greer and then we can vet his background. But I do keep asking myself just when will folks in the UFO field demand an end to this dog and pony show, and get back to actual investigation and research into the real phenomena?
Decker
I Get the Last Word
By Don Ecker
From March 2006
Because of a number of changes the last several months my column has been on hiatus, but I’m back so lets get on with it.
In the almost 20 years that I’ve been involved in UFO research the two areas that have caused me to maintain my interest have been cases involving the US military and cases that have occurred in space involving NASA or other space faring nations. These cases, when they become known to the research field, are usually the most reliable cases that are truly unknown. The above was reaffirmed when I considered what seems to be the most prevalent topics of discussion now in the UFO “research” arena.
I suppose I may sound (or read) like a broken record about current “research” or UFO discussions now, but because of what is now in the for front I yearn for yesteryear. I yearn for the work of the likes of Donald Keyhoe, Larry Fawcett and Barry Greenwood, even J. Allen Hynek, but instead we are hit with the fuzzy thinking by the likes of Steve Greer, Bill Hamilton and Linda Howe. What happened to genuine in-depth nuts and bolts research, exploring a real phenomena instead of the day-dreaming we get now discussing science fiction like “Project Serpo” as released by “Anonymous.” What is so distressing to me is the fact that there is not one single shred of any kind of evidence what-so-ever, yet hordes of people are jumping into the debate as if this could be real. Why am I so sure that this is more hokum and bunkum poured into a field that for almost 60 years has been at least 95% hokum and bunkum? Well, actually I think this is a pretty easy answer.
Lets play a little game and call it the “hypothesize” game. For the sake of argument lets pretend that elements of the U.S. government had contact with an extraterrestrial culture and in the 1960’s worked out a top secret deal to send human representatives to their planet. Then, according to “Anonymous” the big “G” picks 10 men and two women, and OFF THEY GO to the “Eben” planet in the Zeta Reticular Star System. Hot Damn! And how did we find out about this? Well, Anonymous told us! As depicted in the last issue of UFO Magazine. But wait! There is more. This information was relayed to us from one Victor Martinez via one Richard Doty. The same Richard Doty from AFOSI who was involved, oh so many years ago, in the Paul Benewitz disinformation campaign. Remember Benewitz? The fellow who ended up in a mental hospital, reportedly driven bonkers by a disinformation scheme directed by AFOSI, as reported to the UFO community by Bill Moore in 1989. But I digress.
So, still “hypothesizing” our intrepid travelers, at least some of them, returned in 1978 and were duly sent off to various military bases and kept isolated until at least 1984. Wow! And how do we “KNOW” all this? Why, “Anonymous” told us of course. And UFOs being what they are today, lots of folks will want to accept this because they believe!
Speaking of believing, I’ve spent a bit of time up on the Project Serpo website. I’ve plowed through the pages and hit upon this photograph that was touted as probably an actual photo of an alien being. (See EBE-1) Next to the photograph is this remark by an alleged “military archivist” who is supposed to have handled ET photographs. "I have seen two different kinds of ETs from crashes, and this is definitely one of them. It could very well be him. I am not 100% sure, but I'd bank on it."
When I really took a close look at the alleged alien, it looked VERY familiar. Then I looked up at my bookcase and saw what could have been the subject of the picture. A styrofoam bust of an alien created by special effects artist Steve Neill, who gave it to me over 10 years ago. (See MyEBE-02) Oops! Even his rib cage is identical.
I don’t know, maybe “Anonymous” will turn up at the next press briefing put on by Steve Greer and then we can vet his background. But I do keep asking myself just when will folks in the UFO field demand an end to this dog and pony show, and get back to actual investigation and research into the real phenomena?