The latest word from the International UFO Congress
3/13/2000
AlienZoo resident ufologist Jim Dilettoso's article Mission Control explores UFO research, ET technologies, and moments in ufology's past.
If I were only to write about one thing about what's going on in UFO circles right now, I.d be faced with tough choices. After all, tonight is the .third anniversary. of The Phoenix Lights - for better or for worse. Everyone (in Phoenix, at least) is talking about the famous sighting, whether it's because of The Learning Channel's Alien Invasion special or the hoopla generated by every local TV and radio station in Phoenix. Plus, the National Guard is dropping flares tonight, supposedly carrying out a routine training mission.
I should note that new video of the March 13 event has been acquired from a pilot who was up that night. The pilot shot more than 30 minutes of up-close-and-personal footage of the lights. But there's no story there, because he's still in the Air Force and we can't use his name.
I could also tell you about why I'm staying out of the Phoenix media right now, at the peak of the "anniversary" when I could be writing about the media's confusion over my testing of the lights versus flares, using "spectrum analysis" versus "spectral analysis." I could talk about how I actually use color-spectrum analysis of the lights, whereas Jerry Wills uses the highly debatable spectral analysis. But all that is too dry, I think.
What's more newsworthy, ufologically speaking, comes from a small resort town called Laughlin, Nevada. I just got back from the International UFO Congress (IUFOC), which just ended a week-long, blockbuster schedule of power talks. I got to see hundreds of UFOnauts that I know, and from them I got the latest scoop. Graham Birdsall blew the whistle on NASA with startling footage of giant objects videotaped from the Space Shuttle. Giorgio Bongiovanni (the man with the stigmata on his hands) has obtained KGB classified UFO cases. Ron Regehr explained how the NSA-NRO satellites he worked on showed UFOs in one-meter detail.
I also got to spend quality time with Peter Gersten, who is spearheading Citizens Against UFO Secrecy's lawsuit against the Department of Defense; CAUS is pushing the agency to reveal files on the triangle ships that flew over Arizona three years ago. Get this: While Dr. Steven Greer spoke about the briefing he gave to CIA Director Woolsey, Gersten was plotting to subpoena Greer, to force him to turn over his files on the 200 retired military "witnesses" he has deposed. Gersten never followed through on his wishes, but he would have been able to drill these witnesses for use in his own case against the DoD.
Meantime at the IUFOC, a striking contrast arose between two doctors. Dr. Roger Leir, the noted surgeon, talked about how he has removed alien implants from people who have been abducted. Dr. Jonathan Reed gave a tearful depiction of nearly killing the alien who killed his dog, and kept the ET in his freezer until the NSA came and took it all away. Fortunately, Leir has the inplants, but Reed only has pictures.
Also interesting was how production companies were at the IUFOC making new UFO shows for both the Discovery Channel and The Learning Channel. The fact that award-winning producers like Chris Wyatt are making shows with award-winning directors like AlienZoo's own Paul Davids is big news. Then again, this kind of a project is expected to happen. Below the surface of activity, Peter Sorensen and Ron Russell were revealing technological breakthroughs in crop circle measurements. And Col. Wendelle Stevens demonstrated that the Third Reich had a development team working on contract with ETs, to build UFOs.
I could also write about all the new sightings in South America brought to light at the IUFOC. Michael Hesseman and A.J. Gevaerd gave incredible presentations of the latest wave of alien abductions and contacts on the tropical continent. But this story really needs to be told in Spanish and Portuguese, and I only speak geek.
Another story idea I could explore here is the big music jam that happened at the IUFOC last Wednesday and Saturday. These featured all of the UFO investigators you could possibly imagine. But you really have to see the video of it to believe it. Maybe we'll have some up on AlienZoo soon.
Honestly, I should simply tell you that I need another week to think things through - after seven days in Laughlin, I need to gather some perspective. There's too much to write about.
But I can leave you with this tidbit of info: People are interested in how Scientific American reported that, on the night of March 13, 1997, bursts of gamma radiation were detected by the LaScilla telescope in Chile and the Hubble Space telescope. These bursts are not simply rare occurrences; what's more, their magnitude and positioning add a higher degree of coincidence to the story of The Phoenix Lights.