UFO Notizie - No 61

Magazine Overview

Title: UFO NOTIZIE
Issue: 61
Date: September 1999
Publisher: Centro Italiano Studi Ufologici (CISU)
Country: Italy
Price: £. 2.500

This issue of UFO NOTIZIE, the 61st publication from the Centro Italiano Studi Ufologici (CISU), dated September 1999, covers a range of ufological news and activities. It includes reports on recent UFO sightings, the CISU's organizational activities, media coverage, new book releases, and discussions on military and scientific aspects of UFO research.

CISU Activities and News

Consiglio Direttivo The CISU's board of directors met on July 23rd to discuss the publication of two books, the appointment of new ordinary members, objectives for the CISU 2000 Project, the organization of the upcoming national conference in Bari, and the formalization and financing of several projects.

CISU Among Top Sites on La Repubblica The website of the Italian newspaper La Repubblica featured UFO-related sites in its 'top sites' section during the week of June 5th to 11th. The CISU's three websites – UFO Online, CISU Online, and UfoDataNet – were positively reviewed and linked, described as "A serious approach to UFOs and ufology."

CISU-On-Line Reaches 30,000 Visitors CISU-On-Line, the official CISU website, surpassed 30,000 visitors by the end of July, with 1,400 contacts in the previous month. At that time, the site offered approximately 680 files of text or images, totaling nearly 16 Megabytes.

CISU at the International Congress on Ball Lightning The CISU participated in the Sixth International Congress on Ball Lightning held in Antwerp, Belgium, from August 23rd to 25th. Paolo Toselli and physicist Renato Fedele presented on a project to create a database of Italian ball lightning cases, partly based on CISU archives.

Local Outreach Activities The magazine highlights various local outreach activities by CISU representatives. These include a photographic exhibition on ufology in Villa San Giovanni in Tuscia (July 16-18), interviews with Renzo Cabassi in Modena and Edoardo Russo in Turin, and mentions of UFO-Online on Il Lavoro, Arianna, and Quotidiano di Lecce. Other reports include interviews with Lello Cassano in Bari, Claudio Cavallini in Vigevano, and further coverage of Edoardo Russo's work on scientific ufology and CISU. CISU was also mentioned in Alto Adige and Soprattutto.

Sightings (Avvistamenti)

UFOs in July Reports include a disc-shaped object seen near Bresso and Cologno Monzese (Milan) on June 28th, described as reflecting sunlight and moving erratically. On the same day, a woman near Villesse (Gorizia) saw one, then three disc-shaped objects moving in and out of a cloud. On June 30th, three witnesses in Bologna observed a strong, round red light that moved slowly, stopped, and then moved again. On July 4th, people in Pesaro saw an immobile, lighthouse-like light that extinguished itself, a similar phenomenon also reported in Terni. On July 5th, a child in Isernia reported seeing a slow-moving flying object. On July 6th, an intense white light was seen moving rapidly in Carpi (Modena) before slowly fading. On July 11th, a boy in Biella observed a black, cubic object with antennas that emitted a whistle and remained immobile before moving away. On July 13th, several people in Viterbo witnessed a slow-moving, intense red object, initially triangular then sigar-shaped, passing overhead.

Flap in Central-Southern Italy On the night of July 19th, a very bright, luminous object followed by a persistent trail caused alarm across a wide area of central-southern Italy, from Sardinia to Puglia and Sicily. The phenomenon lasted about three minutes and was described by witnesses and media as a UFO or a comet. One astronomer suggested it might have been the MIR space station, though this was later disputed.

Fireball Falls in Puglia On the evening of August 12th, a fireball was observed over Salento, Puglia, and fell into a field near Nardò and Gallipoli. The luminous object, followed by a trail, was seen to descend, possibly emit a whistle, and then explode, with some witnesses reporting it splitting into two parts. It landed in a field, causing a circular area of scorched grass. Firefighters extinguished the fire, and the area was cordoned off pending the arrival of CNR experts, who identified it as a meteorite.

Information

New Books New book releases include "Do Extraterrestrials Exist?" (12,000 lire) for children, "Extraterrestrial Sons of God" by Thomas Lethbridge (14,000 lire), and Anthony McCarten's novel "Love is a Martian" (237 pages, published by Garzanti). Edizioni Nord has reissued Ian Watson's "The Double Face of UFOs" (titled "The Enigma of Visitors" in this edition, 252 pages, 22,000 lire), considered a significant science fiction novel in ufology.

In All Newsstands

• ExtraTerrestre: The July-August issue of this monthly magazine, now distributed nationwide, is a tabloid format publication from Maurizio Baiata.
• Focus: The July-August issue featured an article on crop circles created by CICAP members to demonstrate human feasibility, sparking debate.
• Specchio: An article by Diego Gabutti in the July 10th supplement to La Stampa reviewed science fiction cinema inspired by UFOs.
• Airone: The September issue included a 64-page insert titled "UFO - Mysteries of the Cosmos," covering space archaeology, exobiology, radio astronomy, and science fiction cinema.
• Dimensione Ignoto: The first installment of a 24-part series accompanying X-Files video cassettes was released in late August for 9,900 lire. CISU collaborated on the iconographic research for the fascicles.

New CD-ROM "UFO... dai confini della rete..." is a new CD-ROM from the Spiderweb collection, offering ufology material for 24,900 lire.

Radio-TV Listening Center This section lists national television programs that discussed UFOs in the first half of 1999, based on data collected by Paolo Toselli. It also lists films and TV series with ufological themes aired during the same period, including "Superman," "The Arrival," "The Simpsons," "X-Files," "Starman," "Heads of Cone," "Alien Nation," "Why Me... Captain Always Happens to Me," "Independence Day," and "Citizen of Space."

Comics, Advertising, Concerts

Comics, Advertising, Concerts An advertisement for the weekly magazine Famiglia Cristiana featured a UFO theme. A comic book featuring Scooby Doo, including an issue on the "Mystery of Roswell," was also released. Air Europe resumed its UFO-themed advertising campaign. The band Gli amici di Roland featured a UFO on their concert posters, and the Roman collective MiR announced a techno concert in response to a recent meteor flap, considering it of "extraterrestrial origin."

UFO Advertising The Negronetto salami brand featured a blurred image of their product resembling a flying cigar with a greenish halo, with the acronym U.F.O. reinterpreted as "Una. Fame. Oltremisura." (A. Hunger. Beyond Measure.). Advertisements for Windows NT and Telecom also featured alien themes.

UFOs as an Excuse for Delinquency Two cases are reported where individuals attempted to use UFOs and extraterrestrials as an excuse for their actions. A pyromaniac arrested in August claimed to be fleeing aliens, and a repeat offender who stole a moped also cited aliens as his reason for needing to escape.

International News

Kevin Randle Book on Abductions Kevin Randle, known for his work on the Roswell case, has released a new book titled "The enigma of abductions: the truth behind mass alien kidnappings at the end of the twentieth century." The book is critical of abduction researchers, suggesting they influenced witnesses based on their personal beliefs.

Book by Kevin Randle on Abductions Kevin Randle's latest book, "The enigma of abductions: the truth behind mass alien kidnappings at the end of the twentieth century," is discussed. Randle, known for his work on the Roswell case, examines the phenomenon of alien abductions. The book is presented as an indictment of abduction researchers, arguing they have influenced witnesses according to their personal beliefs.

MUFON International Congress The 30th international ufological congress, organized by the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON), was held in Washington D.C. on July 3rd and 4th. The event, described as the most important in traditional ufology, featured numerous speakers and attracted significant media attention, including from The Washington Post. Key discussions included the work of billionaire John Firmage and a controversial text by Australian chemist Bill Chalker regarding genetic analysis of a hair sample from an alleged extraterrestrial.

New UFO Philatelic Issues Tanzania has issued new stamps featuring UFOs and Area 51.

New Explanation for the Arnold Case? James Easton, an English ufologist, has proposed a new explanation for the 1947 Kenneth Arnold sighting: white pelicans. This theory has generated varied reactions from other ufologists.

French Military Dossier on UFOs Published A dossier on UFOs compiled by a group of French military officers and scientists, initially intended for government officials, has been published in the magazine VSD. Titled "UFO and Defense: What Should We Expect?", the report summarizes data on the UFO problem and makes recommendations for continued government study.

Bertrand Méheust's New Book on the Belgian Wave French scholar Bertrand Méheust is releasing a new book, "UFO: Return to the Belgian Anomaly," focusing on the wave of low-altitude object sightings over Belgium between 1989 and 1992. Méheust, previously known for his socio-psychological approach to ufology, now considers these events "a set of phenomena that remain unexplained."

Military and Scientific Developments

Discoveries on Early Military Commissions American ufologists Wendy Connors and Mike Hall have gathered firsthand accounts of the origins of US military projects studying flying saucers. They suggest that early studies by T-2 officers at Dayton in late 1946, and the subsequent "Twining Report" in 1947, were initiated to preempt official investigations.

UFO Lobby Born in US Congress A UFO lobby, the X-PPAC (Extraterrestrial Phenomena Political Action Committee), has been established in the US Congress. Founded by Stephen Bassett, its stated goal is to end government censorship regarding the presence of extraterrestrial life.

The CIA's Eternal Return Italian newspapers reported on August 18th that the CIA had allegedly admitted to instrumentalizing the UFO topic, linking it to the TV series X-Files. This news was previously reported by Ufotel in 1997 and 1998, and is attributed to a promotional campaign by the British magazine Intelligence and National Security regarding the release of the Haines Report.

New European Scientific Ufology Journal The first issue of the European Journal of UFO and Abduction Studies has been released. This journal aims to provide a scientific and European perspective on ufology, featuring articles on declassified military archives, ball lightning cases, and the correlation between abductions and electromagnetic pollution.

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

The magazine consistently reports on UFO sightings, CISU's research and outreach, and the media's portrayal of UFO phenomena. There is a clear emphasis on scientific investigation and a critical approach to sensationalism, as seen in the discussion of the French military dossier and the critique of abduction research. The editorial stance appears to be one of promoting serious, scientific ufology while acknowledging the public's interest and media coverage of the topic.