SUFOG Newsletter No 041

Magazine Overview

This document is a newsletter from the Southampton UFO Group, issue number 41, dated March 1994. It primarily focuses on cataloging and reviewing media coverage of UFO-related topics from January 1993, alongside other UFO news and research.

Media Coverage Review (January 1993)

The newsletter meticulously lists media reports from January 1993, categorized by publication type:

Regional Newspapers: * 1.1.93 - Ilkeston Advertiser: "UFO MAN IS TOLD OF TRIP WITH ALIENS." * 11.1.93 - Portsmouth News: "SCIENTIST TO PROBE 'UFO' SIGHTING."

Local Newspapers: * (No specific entries listed under this sub-heading, but the regional section likely covers local news).

Magazine Articles: * 15.1.93 - New Statesman & Society: "IF THEY RULED THE WORLD." * 22.1.93 - Oldie (The): "NO TITLE. (LEY LINES/UFOS)."

National Newspapers: * 7.1.93 - The Sun (Scottish Edition): "FLYING SAUCER 'IS SPY PLANE'" * 8.1.93 - The Guardian: "CONSPIRACY THEORISTS SUSPECT A PLOT." * 9.1.93 - The Independent: "NO TITLE. (WEMBLEY CONFERENCE)." * 11.1.93 - The Guardian: "BAAL PILOT BEDEVIL'S CONSPIRATORIALISTS." * 12.1.93 - Daily Telegraph: "EURO-MP's WANT TO STUDY UFOS." * 14.1.93 - Daily Star: "COP 'N' SAUCER."

Unknown Newspapers: * 1.93: "FEARS OVER FARCE AT 'CONSPIRACY CONFERENCE'." * 1.93: "IS THERE ANYBODY OUT THERE ?" * 3.1.93: "PERIODICALLY CORRECT. (MAGAZINE REVIEW)."

Press Cutting Collection

The newsletter details a monthly running total of press cuttings collected. As of the newsletter's publication, the total stands at 6516 items. The collection is categorized by subject, with the largest categories being:

• UK REGIONALS: 2722
• UK NATIONALS: 906
• NEWSPAPER UNKNOWN: 625
• MAGAZINE ARTICLES: 238
• CROP CIRCLES: 757
• SOUTHAMPTON ECHO: 389

Television and Radio Appearances/Reports

The newsletter reviews various television programs and radio segments related to UFOs:

• CH4 (16 Feb 94): "The Strange Case Of Crop Circles."
• Sky News (21.2.94): "Special Report: Roswell Crash."
• GMTV (21.2.94): Followed up on a newspaper article about a Panasonic video camera iris potentially being mistaken for a UFO.
• Late Night Late (27.2.94): A segment featuring abductees, which the author found distressing and detrimental to ufology.
• The Time The Place (2.3.94): Featured Jenny Randles discussing abductions.
• Sky Television (12/13.3.94): Reviewed "Intruders (Based on cases of Budd Hopkins)", a 3.5-hour program.
• Central Television: Announced they are filming a UFO documentary in Suffolk and planning to visit Gulf Breeze.
• Radio Solent (28.2.94): The author appeared on the Peter White show, discussing UFOs with John Rimmer, editor of Magonia.
• Radio Solent (17.2.94): Discussed a survey suggesting 1993 was 3.5% stranger than 1992, citing the 'Fortean Times'.

Magazine Reviews

Several UFO-related publications are reviewed or mentioned:

1. A.U.N (AMATEUR UFO NEWS) No. 22 (Jan 94): An American magazine featuring a sighting near Warsaw, Missouri, a goat mutilation, and a calf mutilation.
2. CROP WATCHER No. 20 (Nov/Dec 93): Covers a UN lecture on crop circles by Colin Andrews, and includes articles on microwaving crop circles, French crop circles, and Ted Phillips' physical trace catalogue.
3. Southern Paranormal Investigations No 3-5: Packed with news and information on crop circles, ghosts, and UFOs.
4. OVNI (February 94): Covers mystery triangle UFOs, secret tests, UFOs and the North Pole.
5. Northern Ufo News No 164 (New Year 1994): Described as the best magazine available, covering Menwith Hill Tracking, Media Matters, and Brief Cases.
6. Ufo Magazine Jan/Feb 94 Vol 12 No 6: A glossy magazine from Quest.

Elite File...(Part 1)

This section details a disturbing item received by Mr. Ernie Sears, purportedly from a document concerning a group code-named ELITE. It describes:

• A project called OPERATION ALPHA and OMEGA with agents DESTINY and Deliverance.
• The American Government designing a vehicle called DUP HOVER, capable of levitating at speeds up to 4000 mph, operated by mind control and featuring an anti-gravity device with a crew of twelve.
• The Ministry of Defence retrieving a black dumbbell-shaped UFO in 1984 at Southend, England. The object was approximately eighty feet across, four men high, weighed 20 tonnes, and was moved under cover of darkness.
• A warning that members of UFO research groups may be government personnel, and that personal experiences shared with such groups may be ridiculed.
• The author expresses skepticism about the 'Elite File', suggesting it might be a fabrication or an attempt to discredit researchers.

Further points are raised regarding Ernie Sears' past involvement with Bufora and the possibility that the source of the 'Elite File' is using old Bufora address listings.

New Books and Videos

• New Books:
• Crop Circle Apocalypse, by John Macnish (£15.00)
• Ufo Abductions in Gulf Breeze, by Ed Walters (USA only)
• Dark White: Aliens, Abductions and The Ufo Scandle (£16.99)
• New Video:
• Crop Circle Communique 2 (to be released late spring 1994).
• Gulf Breeze Press Cuttings: Vol 1 & Vol 2 available.
• Books For Sale:
• The Circlemakers, by Andrew Collins (£2.50 plus p&p).
• The Ufo Encyclopedia, by Margaret Sachs (£6.00 plus p&p).

Research Findings

• Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada: Psychological tests on UFO claimants suggest they are ordinary, imaginative, white-collar, relatively well-educated individuals.
• Radio Solent (17.2.94): A survey indicates 1993 was 3.5% stranger than 1992, according to 'Fortean Times'.

Fortean Times Index

The newsletter discusses the Fortean Times' creation of an index of strange phenomena. It notes that 1993 was 3.5% 'weirder' than 1992. Steve Gerrard of the Southampton UFO Group comments on Hampshire sightings, noting that while most are explainable, a small percentage remain a mystery.

Examples of strange phenomena reported by Fortean Times include:

• A shower of rain turning into hay and grass in Poole in 1977.
• A large cat-like animal sighting near Horsham in 1975, with associated hair and paw prints.

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

The newsletter consistently focuses on UFO sightings, media reporting, and research within the ufology community. There is a strong emphasis on cataloging and disseminating information from various sources, including newspapers, magazines, television, and radio. The editorial stance appears to be one of diligent archiving and reporting, with a degree of skepticism towards sensational claims, as seen in the commentary on the 'Elite File' and the Panasonic camera iris incident. The group actively encourages reader participation and information sharing. The publication also reviews and promotes books and other media related to UFOs and strange phenomena.

This document appears to be a page from a magazine, likely the 'Fortean Times', given the content and the explicit mention of the publication. The page discusses themes of 'weirdness', skepticism, and a call for reader contributions regarding paranormal phenomena, specifically alien encounters and abductions. The date, volume, and issue details are not explicitly provided.

Content Analysis

The page begins with a quote suggesting that previously fringe topics are becoming more 'legitable and respectable'. It then references 'Big Cat stories' by Martin Tribbett, which appeared in The Times, and other unusual accounts such as a 'two-legged fish caught in Tasmania' and a 'German who had failed in two suicide attempts, was killed on the way home, by a cart horse'.

Martin Hempstead of the Wessex Skeptics offers a critical perspective on the 'Fortean Times', describing it as 'basically an amusing magazine' and stating that he doesn't think there's a 'real need to spend a lot of time examining their claims in any detail'. He expresses a preference for 'science journals for the really weird and wonderful things, that are happening now a days'.

A report from Kerry Dyson on the 'new FT Index, Index of weirdness' is also mentioned.

The latter part of the page contains a direct appeal to readers. The author is compiling information for someone in America who is creating a 'catalogue of alien encounters/abductions'. Readers are asked to supply specific details if they have investigated such cases, including:

• DATE
• TIME
• LOCATION
• WITNESS
• DESCRIPTION (including craft and alien beings).

The author concludes by asking anyone who can help to 'drop me a line'.

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

The recurring themes are 'weirdness', the nature of evidence and belief in paranormal phenomena, and the role of skepticism. The editorial stance, as represented by Martin Hempstead's quote, leans towards skepticism regarding the claims presented in publications like the Fortean Times, favoring empirical scientific investigation. However, the call for information on alien encounters suggests an openness to collecting and cataloging such reports, even if their veracity is not immediately confirmed.

Key Incidents and Cases

• Big Cat Stories: Mentioned as having appeared in The Times and now considered more credible.
• Tasmanian Fish: A report of a two-legged fish with feet caught in Tasmania.
• German Suicide Attempt: An account of a German individual who died from a cart horse incident after two failed suicide attempts.
• Alien Encounters/Abductions: A general call for information on such cases, with a request for specific details to be compiled into a catalogue.