MUFON Northern California Newsletter - 1994 03 - March

Magazine Overview

This is the March 1994 issue of the MUFON Northern California Newsletter, published by the Mutual UFO Network, Inc. Northern California Affiliate. The issue features a note from the editor, Kathi Hennesey, welcoming Laura Steiger as Assistant Newsletter Editor and encouraging reader contributions. It announces an upcoming presentation by Ted Oliphant at the MUFON Northern California general meeting in San Jose.

Note from the Editor

Kathi Hennesey expresses gratitude for the positive response to the premier issue and encourages members to submit material, including book or video reviews, to leverage the diverse expertise within the MUFON membership. Laura Steiger is welcomed as the new Assistant Newsletter Editor.

March Meeting Feature: Ted Oliphant

Ted Oliphant is scheduled to present on Sunday, March 27th, in San Jose. The newsletter includes biographical information provided by Ruben Uriarte, Assistant State Director. Oliphant shares his background in media communications since 1978, including work at KPIX, KFRC, KBHK, and KALX radio and television, as well as broadcasting in Michigan and Frankfurt, Germany. He served as a public affairs spokesman for the Strategic Air Command from 1986 to 1988. His interest in UFOs began shortly before leaving the Air Force, prompted by friends' stories. He produced his first documentary, "UFOs: A Need to Know," during which he witnessed a UFO in the deserts near Rachel, Nevada, and in the Appalachian Mountains of Fyffe, Alabama. The Fyffe sighting of a large illuminated orb was particularly impactful. Oliphant moved to Fyffe, Alabama, in December 1990, where he became a police radio dispatcher and later a police officer, graduating from the North East Alabama Police Academy in February 1992. He notes scattered reports of strange lights in the sky, often witnessed by law enforcement professionals, and mentions cattle mutilations reported in Marshall County in October 1992.

Inside

The "Inside" section provides a table of contents, listing articles on Reviews, Training Notes, In the News, Coast Weekly Article/Part II, Magazines Feature UFO's, Case Summaries, Operation Right to Know Update, and Calendar.

Review: "You Should Have Your Head Examined!" by Bufo Calvin

This review discusses a study published in the Journal of Abnormal Psychology concerning the personality profile of UFO reporters. The study, which used scientific methodology, suggests that people who have had UFO encounters are not inherently crazy and are not more prone to fantasize or be hypnotized than the general population. The study analyzed four groups: UFO non-intense (observers of lights), UFO intense (percipients, including those with physical contact or boarding craft), a general population group, and introductory psychology students. The tests covered intelligence, self-esteem, schizophrenia, social potency, fantasy proneness, UFO beliefs, other exotic beliefs, and hypnotizability. Interviews with UFO groups provided insights into the nature of their experiences. The reviewer notes that the study's authors do not consider the extraterrestrial hypothesis confirmed, but suggests their survey of literature might have been limited, citing only two books by skeptics (Philip Klass and Robert Sheaffer) and a chapter on psychiatry. The reviewer, identifying as a Fortean, aims to remain open to all possibilities. The review details the study's findings:

1. UFO experiencers were more likely to believe in UFOs.
2. They were more likely to hold other "exotic beliefs."
3. UFO experiencers were "better-adjusted" than control groups, viewing the world as less hostile and experiencing less stress.
4. The UFO non-intense group scored higher on intelligence tests than other groups, but reported fewer psychic happenings.
5. UFO experiencers showed no more signs of psychopathology, fantasy proneness, or temporal lobe dysfunction than control groups.
6. The intense group had more encounters involving sleep, suggesting sleep paralysis might be a factor, though the reviewer posits that intense experiences are more likely to interfere with sleep.
7. The intense group was more likely to view their experiences as negative, possibly linked to "extreme fear" associated with sleep paralysis.
8. There were positive correlations between the intensity of the UFO experience and measures like fantasy-proneness, schizophrenia, perceptual aberration, and temporal lobe lability, though these scores were not particularly high.

Calvin concludes that the study suggests beliefs in alien visitation serve as templates for shaping ambiguous information, but he argues this doesn't cover all cases, particularly those not occurring at night or not sleep-related. He commends the study but finds its conclusion less condemning of a physical explanation for sightings.

Notes

The review includes references to the study's authors and their publications, including "Close Encounters: An Examination of UFO Experiences" and "The Journal of Abnormal Psychology." It also mentions the "Skeptics UFO Newsletter" and suggests other authors like Jacques Vallee and J. Allen Hynek. Contact information for the author, Bufo Calvin, is provided, along with details about his research services, NEARU and TAP.

Training Notes

Les Velez, Training Coordinator, reports on a recent training session in Saratoga. Jim McCampbell presented on government involvement in UFOs, and Tom Macris discussed reconstructing visual aspects of UFO occurrences. Virgil Staff provided tools for investigations. The next session will focus on the psychological aspects of investigations, with the hope of having an investigator demonstrate a full case study. This session is the last until the fall due to summer vacations. Velez requests input for future sessions and hopes for increased attendance.

In the News

Scientist Finds 2 Planets Outside Our Solar System

An Associated Press report from New York details Alexander Wolszczan of Penn State University's confirmation of two planets orbiting a dense star (pulsar) about 1,300 light-years from Earth. These are the first known planets outside our solar system. The evidence comes from irregularities in the pulsar's energy pulses, indicating gravitational pulls from orbiting planets. Shri Kulkarni of Caltech and Frederic Rasio of the Institute for Advanced Study confirm the findings. The data also suggests a moon-sized object and potentially more orbiting objects, indicating a planetary system.

Private Donors Keep Search for ET Alive

An Associated Press report from San Francisco highlights that private donors are funding the Search for ExtraTerrestrial Intelligence (SETI) Institute after Congress cut its funding. Bernard Oliver, the institute's senior technical expert, compares the current stage to Columbus's discovery of the New World. The project, "Project Phoenix," has raised $4.4 million of the $7.3 million needed to continue for another year. Notable donors include Arthur C. Clarke, David Packard, William Hewlett, Gordon Moore, and Paul Allen. Astronomers involved describe the project as solid basic science, believing that hundreds of millions of potentially habitable planets exist in our galaxy alone.

Correction

A correction is issued regarding the final paragraph of a previous review of Martin Cannon's work, clarifying that "no later known hypnosis was involved" instead of "no later, known hypothesis was involved." Apologies are extended to writer Virgil Staff.

Articles...

Coast Weekly Article/Part II

This installment continues a feature article from the November 4-11, 1993, issue of the Coast Weekly, a Monterey County newspaper. The article, titled "Out of This World... Local contact adds to the national debate about the existence of UFOs..." by Chuck Thurman, explores the experiences of people who claim contact with beings from outer space.

Anne DeSoto, a Watsonville resident, is quoted defending the sanity of abductees. Diana Celeste Cometto, a Santa Clara-based hypnotist, works with a support group for abductees and uses hypnosis to help recall details of experiences. Cometto emphasizes that these experiences are real to the individuals and aims to reassure them they are not crazy.

The article notes a "veritable flood of UFO sightings" since the mid-1940s, with many explainable but a significant number remaining unexplained.

Lester Velez, a MUFON field investigator, describes common contact experiences: a person sees an object, it disappears, and later they find marks on their body. Under hypnosis, contactees report their cars stopping due to electromagnetic fields, being taken aboard a ship via a beam of light, undergoing examinations with probes, and sometimes having implants. Many recall similar circumstances since childhood.

DeSoto recounts a childhood memory of being escorted by a young boy with blond hair and blue eyes to a small wooden house, where she encountered women and an old man. She felt a sense of peace and protective love. Later, she experienced a close encounter in December 1988, where she and her boyfriend encountered a gigantic, circular object in fog. This event led her to explore her childhood experience further through hypnosis with Cometto.

During hypnosis, DeSoto recalled an encounter with five brownish beings and two gray beings who entered her room by stepping through the wall. She described the gray beings as skinny with large, black, deep eyes and the brownish beings as having soft hair. The beings floated her boyfriend out of the room. She describes the experience as terrifying.

Mr. X, a Pacific Grove resident, anonymously shared a similar experience from 1991, where he saw a black figure dart through the wall. He also recounted a story told to him about a man who claimed to have been abducted three times, encountering firemen with large black eyes who spoke of a "mother ship."

The Coast Weekly article is noted to continue with a different tale of E.T. contact by Carole Austen in the next issue.

Mainstream Magazines Feature UFOs

This section highlights recent magazine articles on the UFO phenomenon:

• Psychology Today (March/April '94): Features an article on John Mack's work with alien abductees, including interviews with Mack and Budd Hopkins, and discusses the use of hypnosis for memory retrieval. It notes Mack's upcoming book, "Abduction."
• Popular Science (March '94): Features "Secret Air Base," focusing on the Groom Lake facility and government secrecy.
• OMNI magazine (April '94): Publishes a special issue titled "Special: 50 Years of Close Encounters," announcing "Project Open Book," OMNI's inquiry into the UFO phenomenon.

Case Summaries

Case #1

This case involves Beatriz Stedly of Loomis, California, who reported an encounter in September or October 1987 with a luminous entity. The entity, described as having one large eye or two close together and a protruding, moving mouth, communicated telepathically with a high-pitched, muffled scream. The entity had no solid form but was contained, appearing to hover. Beatriz was frightened, and the entity disappeared backwards. Following this experience, Beatriz experienced declining health and became a light sleeper. She later met two other women who reported similar experiences on the same night. John G. Malone investigated the case, noting Beatriz's susceptibility to illness and her waking to see things or people. The entity's mouth was described as funnel-like. The eyes were dominant and black, without irises. Beatriz felt the entity was mirroring her emotions. The case is classified as HumCat Type E, with a Borderline classification due to incompleteness and withdrawal of the subject.

Case #2

Milicent Tombrey of Clear Lake, California, photographed what she described as "13 UFOs on the fourth color negative" after sunset on October 5 or 6, 1993. She had become accustomed to strange aerial contraptions and light configurations. The photograph, taken with a 35mm Fuji camera, shows luminous sources above Mount Konocti. The sources were not noticed by Tombrey at the time of the exposure. The evaluation notes that the aerial luminosities were not noticed by the photographer. The luminous sources appear to be above Mount Konocti, but possibly this side of the mountain. The visibility was almost unlimited, with some cloud cover. The analysis suggests these are not reflections, dust, or out-of-focus lights. The sources are described as self-luminous, emitting their own energy, and appear diamond-shaped, with some showing movement. The report concludes that these are not defects on the print.

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

The newsletter consistently explores UFO sightings, alien encounters, and abduction experiences, often featuring personal testimonies and investigations. There is an emphasis on the psychological aspects of these experiences and the potential for misinterpretation or skepticism from mainstream science. The publication aims to provide a platform for sharing information and encouraging further research within the MUFON community, while also acknowledging and reviewing relevant scientific studies and mainstream media coverage of the UFO phenomenon. The editorial stance appears to be open-minded, seeking to validate the experiences of witnesses while also critically examining the evidence and potential explanations.

Title: MUFON NORTHERN CALIFORNIA NEWSLETTER
Issue Date: March 1994
Publisher: MUFON Northern California Chapter
Country: USA
Language: English

This issue of the MUFON Northern California Newsletter focuses on UFO investigations, government transparency, and upcoming events within the ufology community.

Operation Right to Know Update

Michael Jamieson, State Section Director for Napa, provides an update on the "Operation Right to Know" (ORTK) initiative. ORTK has launched a letter-writing campaign targeting members of the U.S. House of Representatives. The campaign aims to garner support for the recently announced Government Accountability Office (G.A.O.) inquiry into the Roswell case. ORTK suggests that individuals write to Congress to express support for this inquiry and to recommend two specific actions: 1) reviewing and confirming testimony and records related to the Roswell event, and 2) identifying federal expenditures within military and intelligence budgets that have been directed towards covert or classified government operations concerning UFOs.

The update lists specific individuals in Congress targeted for this campaign, including the Comptroller General, the Speaker of the House, chairmen and ranking Republicans of relevant committees (Government Operations, Armed Services, Select Committee on Intelligence), and the Member of Congress whose efforts led to the G.A.O. inquiry. It also provides the general address for the U.S. House of Representatives.

Oliphant - Fyffe UFO Cases and Cattle Mutilations

Ted Oliphant, an individual who worked for the Fyffe Police Department, recounts his experiences investigating UFO cases and cattle mutilations in Fyffe, Marshall County, and DeKalb County, California. He notes that many reports of strange lights came from law enforcement professionals. In October 1992, several cattle mutilations were reported in Marshall County, about 20 miles south of Fyffe, and later closer to his own jurisdiction in DeKalb County. Oliphant states that due to the film "UFOs: A Need to Know," locals began contacting him directly about these mutilations, creating a political situation that interfered with investigations by various law enforcement agencies.

Oliphant's investigation has been featured in Linda Moulton Howe's book "Glimpses of Other Realities" and her documentary "Strange Harvests 1993." He also received coverage from George Knapp and was featured on Fox Television's "Sightings." A recent incident on March 6th, 1994, involved the discovery of another mutilated cow, following reports of unmarked helicopters landing in area cow pastures, some of which were sites of previous mutilations in 1993.

Oliphant plans to address the Bay Area MUFON group to separate fact from fiction regarding the Fyffe UFO cases and associated cattle mutilations.

Calendar of Events

The newsletter includes a calendar of upcoming events:

• April 22-24: S.F. Whole Life Expo at the Fashion Center, San Francisco, featuring speakers like Travis Walton, Linda Moulton Howe, and Zecharia Sitchin.
• March 27, 1994: MUFON Northern California General Meeting at Divine Science Church, San Jose, with Ted Oliphant as the featured speaker.
• May 28/29: Advanced Hypnotherapy Training on "Regression Work with Extra-Terrestrial Contactees and Abductees" in Lafayette, CA, presented by The Hypnosis Clearing House.
• July 8-10, 1994: The 1994 MUFON International UFO Symposium, "UFOLOFY: A Historical Perspective," in Austin, Texas, with numerous prominent speakers in the field.

Dr. John Mack's Book and Media Appearances

The newsletter notes the upcoming release of Dr. John Mack's new book, "Abduction," scheduled for April 20th. Dr. Mack is expected to appear on various television and radio shows, including "48 Hours," and is tentatively scheduled for a publicity tour in the San Francisco Bay Area in early May. Members of the MUFON chapter are reading advance copies of the book, and a review is anticipated. Readers are also directed to the March/April issue of Psychology Today for more information about Dr. Mack.

Magazines: OMNI and Project Open Book

Regarding magazines, OMNI is mentioned for its "Project Open Book" initiative, which aims to create a clearinghouse for documented information on alien encounters and government coverups. OMNI's editorial staff intends to explore the topic of UFOs with rational scientific and journalistic inquiry, opening a multi-part series over several months. This series will examine 50 years of coverup and introduce avenues for present and future progress in ufology, including reader submissions of hard evidence and an online forum for debate and networking.

The article notes that while OMNI's efforts are commendable, a cursory look at its articles reveals no "surprises" for those familiar with ufology literature. MUFON UFO Journal's Editor, Dennis Stacy, is credited with an article on obtaining government information. The abduction article in OMNI is described as somewhat disappointing, largely recycling information on the Linda Cortile case. However, the issue is recommended as a good introduction for those new to ufology.

ORTK and Congressional Correspondence

ORTK is further encouraged by the newsletter, urging readers to write to their own Congressional representatives. Fred Whiting of the Fund for UFO Research is mentioned as a contact for any information requests from Congress, and he has prepared an updated briefing on the Roswell case for members of Congress.

Call for "Far Side" Cartoons

The newsletter includes a humorous request for "Far Side" cartoons by Gary Larson that deal with UFOs, seeking permission to reproduce up to four cartoons.

Newsletter Submission Guidelines

The MUFON Northern California Newsletter is established as a forum for the open exchange of ideas and information. The opinions expressed by contributors do not necessarily reflect the views of the MUFON Northern California Chapter, MUFON International, Inc., or the editorial staff. The newsletter accepts articles, news items, reviews, and event information for submission. Contact information for the Newsletter Editor is provided, including a P.O. Box in Walnut Creek, CA.

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

The newsletter consistently promotes the open exchange of information and ideas related to UFO phenomena. It actively encourages public engagement with government institutions through letter-writing campaigns and supports investigative journalism and research in ufology. The editorial stance appears to be one of serious inquiry into UFOs and related phenomena, while also acknowledging the need for critical analysis and distinguishing between documented evidence and speculation. There is a clear emphasis on transparency and encouraging public participation in uncovering information about UFOs and potential government involvement.