James Fox -- July 1, 2012

[Voyager]

If a person publishes information about UFOs, whether it be in written form, or a documentary; the person producing the presentation should not be put on trial for a phenomenon that exists outside the framework of our reality. The material presented will either stand on its own merits or it will not. The evidence should speak for itself. The series, Sightings, and the documentary, The Best Evidence Ever Caught on Tape; was very compelling without using any gimmicks. It’s not like the majority of the viewing public are interested in intellectually stimulating material. I just wish the phenomenon, whatever it is, wherever its origin, would either reveal itself, and make its presence known, or stop tweaking our minds.

 

[RenaissanceLady]

If a person publishes information about UFOs, whether it be in written form, or a documentary; the person producing the presentation should not be put on trial for a phenomenon that exists outside the framework of our reality. The material presented will either stand on its own merits or it will not. The evidence should speak for itself. The series, Sightings, and the documentary, The Best Evidence Ever Caught on Tape; was very compelling without using any gimmicks. It’s not like the majority of the viewing public are interested in intellectually stimulating material. I just wish the phenomenon, whatever it is, wherever its origin, would either reveal itself, and make its presence known, or stop tweaking our minds.

If I said that a host of angels appeared before me and then magically morphed into a potted plant, would you believe me? What if I also said that as proof of this occurrence, I could show you the potted plant? Would you take me seriously or might you admit that I could possibly be mistaken, if not an outright liar? Should I be "on trial" for making such a claim or do we just accept that this could happen because it's "outside the framework of our reality"?

When we accept things blindly, we diminish the value of any evidence and reason which might be put forth. I've already said that I feel much of what is considered to be "paranormal" is simply that which we lack the ability and knowledge to measure yet this does not make it any less real. Regarding UFOs, ghosts and cryptozoology, I'd say we should place some stock into the fact that thousands of people every year report seeing the same things over and over and over again. Some of this is documented. Something outside of mainstream science may well be going on. This does not mean that every strange light must be an alien vessel nor every speck of dust is a ghostly orb. If we so easily surrender our reason, we become slaves to every whim and every charlatan who wishes to manipulate and enslave us. Skepticism and critical thinking are the fine attributes.

You say that the majority of the public is not interested in intellectually stimulating material. While I cannot speak for the majority, I would say that there are many people who crave intellectual discourse about paranormal studies. If we embrace this, we will get intellectual material and a few taboos about studying this may even be broken. What we will not have is serious scientific inquiry if these fields follow a "flavor of the month" mentality where any and all claims are considered equally credible.

I appreciate that the hosts of this site are not scientists but are still providing research and objectivity in a field that is, unfortunately, pushed to the fringes. I'd say their work is admirable and I'm especially appreciative that Christopher O'Brien held his integrity when faced with what was probably some serious pay. Fear of researching anything remotely paranormal, precisely because of a lack of objectivity among those in this field, keeps many intelligent and respectable people away. I don't believe it was coincidental that Peter Jennings did his UFO report only after he knew he was terminally ill and at the very end of his life, I suspect because he knew he would not be around to face ridicule or have it negatively impact his career.

 

[Voyager]

If I said that a host of angels appeared before me and then magically morphed into a potted plant, would you believe me? What if I also said that as proof of this occurrence, I could show you the potted plant? Would you take me seriously or might you admit that I could possibly be mistaken, if not an outright liar? Should I be "on trial" for making such a claim or do we just accept that this could happen because it's "outside the framework of our reality"?

When we accept things blindly, we diminish the value of any evidence and reason which might be put forth. I've already said that I feel much of what is considered to be "paranormal" is simply that which we lack the ability and knowledge to measure yet this does not make it any less real. Regarding UFOs, ghosts and cryptozoology, I'd say we should place some stock into the fact that thousands of people every year report seeing the same things over and over and over again. Some of this is documented. Something outside of mainstream science may well be going on. This does not mean that every strange light must be an alien vessel nor every speck of dust is a ghostly orb. If we so easily surrender our reason, we become slaves to every whim and every charlatan who wishes to manipulate and enslave us. Skepticism and critical thinking are the fine attributes.

You say that the majority of the public is not interested in intellectually stimulating material. While I cannot speak for the majority, I would say that there are many people who crave intellectual discourse about paranormal studies. If we embrace this, we will get intellectual material and a few taboos about studying this may even be broken. What we will not have is serious scientific inquiry if these fields follow a "flavor of the month" mentality where any and all claims are considered equally credible.

I appreciate that the hosts of this site are not scientists but are still providing research and objectivity in a field that is, unfortunately, pushed to the fringes. I'd say their work is admirable and I'm especially appreciative that Christopher O'Brien held his integrity when faced with what was probably some serious pay. Fear of researching anything remotely paranormal, precisely because of a lack of objectivity among those in this field, keeps many intelligent and respectable people away. I don't believe it was coincidental that Peter Jennings did his UFO report only after he knew he was terminally ill and at the very end of his life, I suspect because he knew he would not be around to face ridicule or have it negatively impact his career.

All I am saying is the evidence should speak for itself. It shouldn't be about the person presenting the material, it should be about the value of the material being presented.

 

[Christopher O'Brien]

was someone who spent 21 years working for the British MoD.

True, but he only spent 3 of those years as head of the UFO desk. As they say, "once a spook--always spooky." Nick is a company man who may be obliged to toe some sort of company line. Oh well, comes w/ the territory. I guess this includes Olympic fear-mongering along with the blanket disclaimers.

 

[Muadib]

All I am saying is the evidence should speak for itself. It shouldn't be about the person presenting the material, it should be about the value of the material being presented.

Personally I'd say that sometimes it does depend on the person presenting the material. For example, if someone like the fake doctor Johnathan Reed brings something forward, can we really believe it given all the lies he's told and all the BS and controversy surrounding him? Or Billy Meier? The fact is that these people would be immediately written off by the vast majority of people within the UFO field and outside of it, and rightly so. Credibility does matter. I'm far more willing to believe something I've heard from someone who has good credentials, than I would be willing to believe something that's come from a proven fraud. I think most people feel the same way. The only time I wouldn't agree with this is when there's just so much evidence coming from so many different people that one persons credibility has nothing to do with the vast amount of evidence being presented, but in the UFO field, how often does that happen?

 

[Voyager]

I don't have a problem differentiating frauds from serious researchers. A large percentage of the information on the Internet is noise. I can only relate to what I have experienced. I don't "believe" anything anybody says just because they appear to be credible. If a person is a known fraud, I ignore them.

 

[boomerang]

A quick flip through TV channels makes it painfully obvious that producers of American TV avoid anything but the lowest common denominator like the plague. The money is obviously in audio-visual junk food. So we have a relatively limited viewing audience, such as those of us on this forum, in search of quality coverage about what amounts to niche material in the larger (drooling) demographic scheme of things.

I don't mean to sound hopeless. But finding big league money and resources for serious ufo researchers will always be an uphill battle.

 

[Muadib]

I don't have a problem differentiating frauds from serious researchers. A large percentage of the information on the Internet is noise. I can only relate to what I have experienced. I don't "believe" anything anybody says just because they appear to be credible. If a person is a known fraud, I ignore them.

You may not, but there are plenty of people who do, my point is that in the case of someone who is credible bringing forth information, I'm far more likely to take the time to look at it and look into it than I would be if some fraud did the same, and so would other people. The idea that credibility isn't important in this field is pure nonsense imo.

 

[Voyager]

A quick flip through TV channels makes it painfully obvious that producers of American TV avoid anything but the lowest common denominator like the plague. The money is obviously in audio-visual junk food. So we have a relatively limited viewing audience, such as those of us on this forum, in search of quality coverage about what amounts to niche material in the larger (drooling) demographic scheme of things.

I don't mean to sound hopeless. But finding big league money and resources for serious ufo researchers will always be an uphill battle.

That is very true. The wild card is the UFO phenomenon itself. It could make its presence known to everybody on the planet, and the PTB would be powerless to stop it. Not saying that is going to happen, but you never know!

 

[Voyager]

You may not, but there are plenty of people who do, my point is that in the case of someone who is credible bringing forth information, I'm far more likely to take the time to look at it and look into it than I would be if some fraud did the same, and so would other people. The idea that credibility isn't important in this field is pure nonsense imo.

Perhaps my position is somewhat one sided. Who has the credibility to evaluate the UFO phenomenon? Stephen Hawking?There is very little information known about the phenomenon. I can't speak for the Military Industrial Complex, an organization that has the resources, and sensing equipment to learn details about the nature of the anomalous objects being observed by people worldwide. About the only thing civilian researchers can do is record the anomalies with digital video recorders, and DSLR cameras, make enlargements of the images, and try to extract detail from the images to gain some insight into what it is we are dealing with. You would be amazed at what can be done with 24 megapixels.

 

[Muadib]

Perhaps my position is somewhat one sided. Who has the credibility to evaluate the UFO phenomenon? Stephen Hawking?There is very little information known about the phenomenon. I can't speak for the Military Industrial Complex, an organization that has the resources, and sensing equipment to learn details about the nature of the anomalous objects being observed by people worldwide. About the only thing civilian researchers can do is record the anomalies with digital video recorders, and DSLR cameras, make enlargements of the images, and try to extract detail from the images to gain some insight into what it is we are dealing with. You would be amazed at what can be done with 24 megapixels.

I have no idea who has the credibility to evaluate the phenomenon as a whole, I was talking about the credibility of individuals within the field. When you're dealing with something that has such a giggle factor with most people, credibility can be the bridge between their knee jerk reaction to laugh at it all and dismiss everything, and having them take a second look at the matter and possibly learning that things aren't as clear cut as they think they are. When it comes to you and me, people who have done some investigating and are already interested in this phenomenon and think there's something to it, it's probably not the most important thing in the world, but I personally feel that fraudulent or less than credible people are a distraction from the importance of the entire subject.

 

[Voyager]

I have no idea who has the credibility to evaluate the phenomenon as a whole, I was talking about the credibility of individuals within the field. When you're dealing with something that has such a giggle factor with most people, credibility can be the bridge between their knee jerk reaction to laugh at it all and dismiss everything, and having them take a second look at the matter and possibly learning that things aren't as clear cut as they think they are. When it comes to you and me, people who have done some investigating and are already interested in this phenomenon and think there's something to it, it's probably not the most important thing in the world, but I personally feel that fraudulent or less than credible people are a distraction from the importance of the entire subject.

No doubt those people do muddy the water. It is all very frustrating. I have some interesting videos, and still enlargements. I'm wondering if anybody in this field in regard to the media has the courage to take on the real deal. Who do you contact? What do you do with it? I created a presentation, and the video and images are part of that presentation. I'm hoping to get some even closer video. Sometimes I wonder why I even bother. It think the UFO phenomenon is perhaps one of the most important discoveries to ever confront the human mind.

 

[Muadib]

No doubt those people do muddy the water. It is all very frustrating. I have some interesting videos, and still enlargements. I'm wondering if anybody in this field in regard to the media has the courage to take on the real deal. Who do you contact? What do you do with it? I created a presentation, and the video and images are part of that presentation. I'm hoping to get some even closer video. Sometimes I wonder why I even bother. It think the UFO phenomenon is perhaps one of the most important discoveries to ever confront the human mind.

I agree with you 100%, the implications are staggering whether they're extraterrestrials or something else entirely. I really don't know who you would contact with something like that, maybe one of the UFO groups out there? Or maybe just go directly to the media yourself, like start with a local TV station or newspaper in your area, I'm not really sure how to go about that. Some people don't like MUFON, but I know that they have groups in all 50 states and you can get in contact with them through their website. Another thing I just thought of is maybe PM Chris O'Brien on here and talk to him about it, I know he's an investigator and I'm not sure where you live but if you have good evidence I'm sure he might have some ideas about what to do with it. Good luck, and once you go public please post the presentation or some stills from it here because I'd love to see it.

 

[Voyager]

I agree with you 100%, the implications are staggering whether they're extraterrestrials or something else entirely. I really don't know who you would contact with something like that, maybe one of the UFO groups out there? Or maybe just go directly to the media yourself, like start with a local TV station or newspaper in your area, I'm not really sure how to go about that. Some people don't like MUFON, but I know that they have groups in all 50 states and you can get in contact with them through their website. Good luck, and once you go public please post the presentation or some stills from it here because I'd love to see it.

I am exploring a number of approaches. Some are shots in the dark, but nothing ventured nothing gained. I won't deal with MUFON, or mainstream media. I wouldn't be opposed to being involved in a documentary, but that is highly unlikely. With my luck the government would kill me! I had somebody put me in touch with the State Director for Montana a couple years ago, he was a jerk. I would like to move forward with this and do something constructive, maybe get some better equipment. For now it is wait and see what happens next. I'm not even going to try and describe what has been happening with the UFOs, you probably wouldn't believe me anyway.

 

[Muadib]

I am exploring a number of approaches. Some are shots in the dark, but nothing ventured nothing gained. I won't deal with MUFON, or mainstream media. I wouldn't be opposed to being involved in a documentary, but that is highly unlikely. With my luck the government would kill me! I had somebody put me in touch with the State Director for Montana a couple years ago, he was a jerk. I would like to move forward with this and do something constructive, maybe get some better equipment. For now it is wait and see what happens next. I'm not even going to try and describe what has been happening with the UFOs, you probably wouldn't believe me anyway.

Actually, I'm probably one of the few people, on this forum anyway, who would believe you, I've had some strange experiences in my time and a few sightings, one of which blew my fricking mind. I don't know about the government having you killed but I will say this, don't give your photos or original negatives to anyone government or otherwise, chances are you will never see them again. You probably didn't need me to tell you that but I've heard too many stories where people do that and then their evidence is gone, never to return. If you don't like MUFON, there's always APRO and NICAP, I think they're still around. I would suggest searching the internet for UFO groups in your state, even if it's just to ask someone with a good grasp on procedure what your options are. I hope things work out for you.

 

[Voyager]

Actually, I'm probably one of the few people, on this forum anyway, who would believe you, I've had some strange experiences in my time and a few sightings, one of which blew my fricking mind. I don't know about the government having you killed but I will say this, don't give your photos or original negatives to anyone government or otherwise, chances are you will never see them again. You probably didn't need me to tell you that but I've heard too many stories where people do that and then their evidence is gone, never to return. If you don't like MUFON, there's always APRO and NICAP, I think they're still around. I would suggest searching the internet for UFO groups in your state, even if it's just to ask someone with a good grasp on procedure what your options are. I hope things work out for you.

I don't see any reason to contact UFO organizations. It would serve no purpose. Awhile back Colin Andrews wanted me to post what I was doing on his web site. I didn't complete the presentation, mainly because I wasn't able to get good enough pictures with the automatic digital camera I was using last summer. I now have video and images to back up my claims. Anyway, Colin was upset that I hadn't completed the work, and he got involved with that musician gal who photographed reflections of a lamp in her window. Colin even called in Greer to be part of the investigation team. What a farce! Now I'm glad that I didn't post anything on Colin's web site. I'm not worried about the government. There isn't anything I could do to affect the smear campaign to discredit UFOs. If nothing else this has been all been very interesting. I'm doing it because I enjoy it. That is what is important.

 

[Muadib]

I don't see any reason to contact UFO organizations. It would serve no purpose. Awhile back Colin Andrews wanted me to post what I was doing on his web site. I didn't complete the presentation, mainly because I wasn't able to get good enough pictures with the automatic digital camera I was using last summer. I now have video and images to back up my claims. Anyway, Colin was upset that I hadn't completed the work, and he got involved with that musician gal who photographed reflections of a lamp in her window. Colin even called in Greer to be part of the investigation team. What a farce! Now I'm glad that I didn't post anything on Colin's web site. I'm not worried about the government. There isn't anything I could do to affect the smear campaign to discredit UFOs. If nothing else this has been all been very interesting. I'm doing it because I enjoy it. That is what is important.

Now my curiosity is piqued lol What exactly are you doing? If you don't wanna post it in the forums you can PM me, I won't say anything. I understand if you want to keep it under wraps though. You're right that the important thing is enjoying what you're doing, nobody can take that away from you.

 

[Voyager]

Now my curiosity is piqued lol What exactly are you doing? If you don't wanna post it in the forums you can PM me, I won't say anything. I understand if you want to keep it under wraps though. You're right that the important thing is enjoying what you're doing, nobody can take that away from you.

It's not that I am concerned about giving out information, it is just too damn difficult to explain. I wasn't joking about the media being afraid to take on the real deal. I am not going to try and predict what is going to happen. Because I don't know. It takes a lot to freak me out anymore. I have become thick skinned!

 

[Polterwurst]

What's the Nick Pope controversy? I hadn't heard about it.

I hadn't heard about that Nick-Pope-invasion-silliness either. Granted, I've always felt he was a bit of a busybody but this... And with James Penniston's story about an uploaded ASCII code that's now three people I thought were credible who are doing like a 180 degree turn. I'm sorry for James Fox, but Mr Kimball IMO has a right to be disappointed.

So what the hell is going on? Is it only the money? Jeez, if I was a conspiracy theorist, I'd probably think someone is buying all these guys off to counteract credible UFO events like the last two National Press Club Conferences, COMETA or Leslie Kean's book and others. Man, the debunkers are having a blast. It's enough to want to turn away from the field.

 

[RenaissanceLady]

True, but he only spent 3 of those years as head of the UFO desk. As they say, "once a spook--always spooky." Nick is a company man who may be obliged to toe some sort of company line. Oh well, comes w/ the territory. I guess this includes Olympic fear-mongering along with the blanket disclaimers.

Yeah, that's a good point... But the sad truth is that I had a rather healthy respect for Nick Pope and I now feel like I've been slapped. This was taken from his own site and it sure doesn't help:

Alien Invasion War Plan Revealed

To mark the release of the alien invasion-themed Sony PlayStation game Resistance: Burning Skies, out exclusively on the PlayStation Vita, Sony asked Nick Pope to produce a war plan detailing how the British Government would respond to a real-life alien invasion. The war plan was drawn up by combining material from MoD’s UFO project with highly-classified war planning documents released to the ongoing Iraq Inquiry. In this way, while the alien invasion war plan is speculative, it’s as close as it’s possible to get to the sort of document the MoD would produce if we really were facing an alien invasion.

Nick Pope has taken part in PR campaigns for a number of extraterrestrial-themed sci-fi movies, including Super 8, Battle: Los Angeles, The X-Files: I Want to Believe, The Day the Earth Stood Still and War of the Worlds. He has also been involved (as consultant and/or contributor) in a number of TV documentaries on the subject, including the National Geographic show When Aliens Attack.

Latest News

If you click on the link above, there's another link for his "Alien Invasion War Plan" that's clearly "Top Secret" because it says so, it bright red print. As this was all written by him and posted on his site, why even bother wasting the red ink to pretend it's "Top Secret"? This is just insulting.
Here's the direct link to it in PDF:
http://www.nickpope.net/pdf/alien-invasion-war-plan/alien-invasion-war-plan-1.pdf

I have no qualms with him getting paid fantastic amounts of money to market a game. I honestly wish someone would offer me gobs of money to market a game, or a book, or a potted plant, or pretty much anything. What I resent is that he used his status to write "articles" and give interviews that never clarify that this is all a marketing gimmick, including what he has posted on his own site. He deliberately implied in at least one interview that he was working on something "official" about UFOs when it was all about hyping this PlayStation game. I hope like hell he made enough to be able to retire comfortably because he's lost whatever status he ever had.

Edited to add: I forgot to mention that on that same link that has the "Latest News", there's a small snippet of an article entitled "False Flag Alien Invasion at the 2012 Olympics." It's definitely worth a read. He discusses these alien invasion conspiracy theories yet, as far as I can tell, he's the only one spreading these "theories". This was all simply part of the marketing hype.

In The Daily Mail piece, he says:

'It is interesting to note that we are all in some ways equipped to deal with alien invasion - games such as Resistance: Burning Skies on PlayStation Vita help acclimatise people to the reality of extraterrestrial life - and in particular that they might be hostile.
'It is a widely held belief that classified information about weapons and tactics useful in combatting alien occupation are embedded into such gameplay.
'The primary flaw is our lack of knowledge - we are limited in the extent of what we know about the alien species.'

Um, sure buddy - and the time I spent playing Roller Coaster Tycoon when I was younger makes me qualified to run Six Flags Amusement Parks.