AFU Newsletter - No 40 - 2001

Magazine Overview

The AFU Newsletter, Issue 40, dated June 2001, is published by the Archives for UFO Research Foundation (AFU) in Norrköping, Sweden. It features an ISSN of 0283-6378 and a cover price of 90 SEK. The main cover headline announces "New religious UFO movements."

New religious UFO movements

This section details a paper by Swedish student Stefan Isaksson titled "New religious UFO movements. Extraterrestrial salvation in contemporary America." Isaksson, a student at California State University, Fresno, USA, has produced a 120-page paper available from UFO-Sweden for 90 SEK. The paper compares three New Religious UFO Movements (NRUMs): the Aetherius Society (founded by George King), Unarius (founded by Ruth and Ernest Norman), and the Raelian Religion (founded by Claude Vorilhon, alias Rael). Isaksson gained intimate knowledge of the Raelians through a field trip to a seminar in Las Vegas, while information on the other two was gathered through literature and email. While Aetherius and Unarius are influenced by 'Old Age' Spiritualism and Theosophy, the Raelian Religion is described as more technocratic and modern. Isaksson notes that the Raelians deny the existence of God or soul but still refer to their movement as a religion and practice prayer. He invalidates the term "flying saucer cults" for these movements, arguing they exhibit elements of millenarian and messianic movements, are structured differently from traditional cults, actively work for the benefit of all, have leaders who function as mediums and mystagogues, and possess complex religious attributes.

The AFU Newsletter is back...

This editorial announces the return of the AFU Newsletter in English after a six-year hiatus since Issue 39 in September 1995. The newsletter will now be published quarterly (March, June, September, December) and will be distributed via postal mail, email, and internet download. The AFU is working on a website to host its archives and newsletters. Swedish sponsors will continue to receive the newsletter, while international sponsors and exchange partners will receive it via email as Word 97 files to save costs. The editor expresses gratitude to supporters, including Lucius Farish for donating UFO Newsclipping Service newsletters. The newsletter's content will include general news from Swedish ufology, AFU activities, and insights into the archive's materials.

A major book collection

This section reports on the acquisition of a significant book collection from the late Bruno R. Ericsson, a 'contactee' since childhood and avid collector of UFO literature. UFO-Sweden, through Clas Svahn, negotiated the purchase of approximately 1,200 books for 5,000 SEK. The collection requires decontamination due to nicotine smoke. A team from UFO-Sweden and Stockholms UFO-Förening spent a day moving and cleaning the books, with a further three days spent on dusting and clearing nicotine by another team. The final step will be ozone cleaning. Ericsson, who had a "B.Sc." and studied in the US, sometimes reported detailed sightings and believed he was remote-controlled by aliens who placed implants in his brain. He also reported an encounter with a "space vampire" in Stockholm. The Ericsson collection includes many contactee-oriented books and American commercial videos.

Annual 2001 AFU board meeting

The AFU board held its annual meeting on May 22, 2001. Discussions included expected donations from various ufologists, including Rune Rydebrant, Gunnar Schelin, Bruno R. Ericsson, and Finn Kalvik. Clas Svahn reported a preliminary agreement with SUFOI in Copenhagen to copy Danish UFO report archives. The AFU board awards an annual book prize to the 'AFU sponsor of the year', with Anders Persson being the recipient this year. Andreas Ohlsson will represent AFU at the UFO-Sweden general meeting. Anders Liljegren detailed plans to seek financing for new book cases for the archive, which currently holds 400 meters of shelves. Security measures for the archives were also discussed, with efforts to secure European Community financing and recruit international sponsors. The new internet presentation of AFU is expected to launch in 2001.

Mailing list of Swedish clippings

A mailing list is available on the internet via Yahoo Groups for Swedish clippings with UFO content. New articles are mailed weekly, but are only available in Swedish. The service currently has 17 subscribers.

Three recent visits to AFU

The AFU archive received several visitors: four 3rd-grade students from Virginska skolan for a school essay, thirteen archivists from ÖLFA for a conference, and eight members from Skaraborgs UFO-Förening for a tour and discussion.

'New Scientist' collection

AFU received 655 copies of 'New Scientist' magazine (1985-1998, excluding 1993) as a gift from the heirs of astronomer Peter Nilson. AFU is searching for twenty specific index issues and offers surplus copies in exchange.

New additions to Parthenon files

Donations from the Parthenon book publishing house, made available by sponsor Carl-Anton Mattsson, include correspondence with Swedish ufologists (1960-1974), working files on books by Paul Goos and Elizabeth Wilcox, and card index files of book customers (1957-1963).

UFO-Sweden annual depositions

UFO-Sweden deposited its 2000 bookkeeping and diskettes with articles from UFO-Aktuellt. They also deposited report material for 1999 from their UFO report centre.

Visual Meteor Database listings

Clas Svahn has printed three volumes of VMDB records detailing approximately 1 million meteor sightings worldwide from 1984-1998. The database is available online.

Who is / was Mollie Thompson?

A donation from Carl-Anton Mattsson includes an LP record, "From Worlds Afar," by Mollie Thompson, a British composer and singer. The record, likely from the 1960s, features contactee themes and song titles like "Space Talk." The article queries if Thompson released other records.

SAF clipping collection

Donations from Solna Astronomiska Förening (SAF) include thousands of newspaper clippings received between 1965 and 1977, which will be integrated into AFU's master file.

Additions to AFU map collection

AFU received additions to its collection of official Swedish maps from Kartbutiken, covering about 75% of Swedish territory. The collection now totals over 750 maps.

Submarine violations in the 1980s

AFU maintains a file on submarine violations and 'USO sightings,' comprising 35 folder volumes. Recent acquisitions include clippings from Bertil Lindqvist, SAF collection clippings from the 1980s, and a copy of Andreas Ohlsson's thesis on Carl Bildt and the submarine issue.

Fate Magazine

Fate Magazine, a US news-stand publication, is now an exchange magazine for AFU. The June 2001 issue is noted for its UFO content, featuring articles on The Mothman Prophecies and the Woodrow Derenberger contact claim, as well as articles on life on Mars, falling ice, stone mysteries, Mayan culture, and ET encounters via Ouija.

Hilary Evans donation

Clas Svahn and Håkan Ekstrand brought about seventy books to AFU from Hilary Evans' personal collection, primarily French and Spanish literature.

Timothy Good donation & John Björkhem Memorial Fund

UFO author Timothy Good made a substantial donation of 1,000 pounds to AFU. The John Björkhem Memorial Fund also provided a grant of 3,000 SEK. These funds were used to purchase twelve American academic theses and a full run of the Journal of Scientific Exploration. The grants also supported the acquisition of general library materials, books, and journals related to UFO investigations and parapsychology.

Ghost rocket files enriched

AFU's ghost rocket files have been enlarged with copies of sighting reports from the War Archives in Stockholm, documents from the US National Archives concerning British and US intelligence interest in Swedish ghost rockets, and a file on a ghost rocket crash observed by Swedish Supreme Commander General Helge Jung.

Sighting a UFO can hurt the eyes

This section recounts a case where a witness, Bisse Juhlén, observed a hovering blue-white UFO for over an hour. Subsequently, her eyesight began to deteriorate rapidly, requiring her to get new glasses twice a year. The article mentions a catalogue of similar cases concerning eye and skin irritation in UFO reports.

Recent new exchanges

AFU has received "UFO Criticism" from Japan, a newsletter published in Japanese since 1993 that is now also available internationally. It includes research into the UFO-shaped boat incident of 1803 and other pieces on abduction folklore and a UFO sighting by a Japanese passenger plane.

Donald Johnson has donated a copy of the UFOCAT 2000 database on CD to AFU, providing another tool for searching UFO literature.

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

The AFU Newsletter serves as a comprehensive record of UFO research and activities, particularly within Sweden and Scandinavia. It highlights the importance of archiving, research, and critical discussion of UFO phenomena. The publication actively seeks donations of materials and financial support to maintain and expand its extensive archive. Recurring themes include new religious UFO movements, historical UFO cases like ghost rockets, contactee accounts, and the ongoing efforts to catalog and make accessible a vast collection of UFO-related literature and documents. The editorial stance is one of serious, scientific inquiry and preservation of information.