Tag Archives: Alien abduction

2014 IUFOC Recap

iufocThe 33rd International UFO Congress was February 12 – 16. It’s the largest conference of its kind in the world. The International UFO Congress is an organization in Arizona dedicated to the dissemination of information related to many areas in Ufology. It was established in 1991 and hosts an annual conference. While previously held in Laughlin, Nevada, the conference moved to the Phoenix, Arizona area in 2011.

The IUFOC features presentations given by authors, researchers, experts, enthusiasts, and those who have witnessed paranormal or anomalous phenomena from all over the world. It also provides a forum to discuss the experiences and findings. This week long event usually has over thirty speakers, a film festival, vendors, and experiencer sessions. Topics generally covered are alien abduction, UFO sightings, UFO crashes, crop circles, paranormal experiences, government conspiracy and much more.

This is probably the premier UFO-focused event in the world. John Rao and crew really do it up right. We’ve reported on the Open Minds team earlier. The quality of the venue, the quality of the mini-events within the IUFOC, like the EBE Awards, the Mixer and Dinner and the Sky Watch are all top notch. If you ever get the opportunity to attend, it will be one of the best experiences you’ll have of meeting folks that come from all over the world who are interested in or have experiences with UFOs.

We did manage to have conversations with many of the speakers and vendors during the event. We even got a few on video endorsing UfologyPRSS, including Ben Hansen, Dr. Lynne Kitei and Kim Carlsberg. We are truly appreciative of their support. Click on the video below for all the endorsements. We know it will help us continue to grow. We also want to express our appreciation for the folks at Open Minds and their exquisite production of the International UFO Congress.

The nature of the UFO phenomena covers a plethora of possibilities. There is as much consideration for conspiracy as there is for objectivism, regardless of Ayn’s introduction. Does our government really have involvement with other worlds? Some say yes and some say no, but we really do not know for sure. What would it matter, anyway?  Is there something that our government could offer the public as some kind of gesture in disclosure? Perhaps the revelation of the off-planet visitors is simply that we need to learn to get along. That alone is more challenging now than any engagements with extraterrestrials.

There were some new folks speaking at the IUFOC this year including Kawaunee Lapseritis, speaking about psychic Sasquatches; Mike Clelland, speaking on Owls and synchronicity regarding contact experiences; and David Marlen, who spoke on the triangular-shaped craft that frequents our skies. Some of the old favorites were there as well, including Steven Bassett, Patty Greer, Rob Simone and Dr. John Alexander. The former hopes for government disclosure, the latter doesn’t think the government knows much at all.

One of the highlights of the festivities was Ben Hansen’s hosting of the Sky Watch on Friday evening. Ben has been a popular figure since the Fact or Faked television show and is now representing Night Vision Ops, an inexpensive line of night vision equipment. It was reported by some that later that night there was a mysterious UFO that hovered over the location for some time. You might search the web for them.

DonWare

If you’ve been to any of the IUFOC events over the years, you will have noticed Don Ware, who consistently brings interesting bits of information to share. Don has been a regular for as long as we can remember. He combines his understanding of Ufology with tidbits from the Urantia Book. Speaking of, this was the first year the Urantia Foundation was part of the festivities and their books were flying out the door. Maybe there is a new source of information that Ufologists haven’t explored yet.

Although the gathering draws attention from all over the world, there hasn’t been much ‘new’ news in decades regarding the phenomena. There does seem to be a bit more of an inquiry into the possibility of extraterrestrials living among us, though. There was a lively discussion between several fellows one evening, patrons and another ‘regular,’ that included a few retirees – detective, human resource manager and an engineer. We overheard them discussing the possibilities of ETs living among us and what that might be like, especially if the ET didn’t know they were and grew up as an orphaned human with a penchant for discovering his or her lineage. We’ll see what develops.

Skeptiko – Science at the Tipping Point

alex-bw-head1Upon researching Alex Tsakaris and Skeptiko, the professionalism of his material and writing is too good to attempt to repackage here. So, in lieu of a rewrite, we’ll proceed with content from Skeptiko’s website and hope Alex doesn’t mind.

The name Skeptiko comes from the ancient Greek philosophy of Skeptikos, and refers to the teachings and the traits of a school of philosophers of whom it was said “asserted nothing but only opined”.

Our Agenda
Follow the data… wherever it leads.  Explore the possibility that the dominant scientific paradigm (i.e. Materialism) might be at a tipping point.  Engage the top thinkers in pointed discussions about the questions that matter most. Treat all guests with respect.

Host Bio: Alex Tsakiris

Alex, host of Skeptiko, is a successful entrepreneur turned science podcaster. In 2007 he founded Skeptiko which has become the #1 podcast covering the science of human consciousness.  Alex has appeared on syndicated radio talk shows both in the US and the UK and is well-know within the parapsychology and near-death experience research communities.

Examples of Engagement (from Skeptiko’s Community files)

In a recent podcast episode of Skeptiko, Dr David Jacobs is quoted as saying:

“This is not consciousness-raising; this is like consciousness denying. This is consciousness-lowering in a sense. So I don’t have any stake in this. It would be wonderful if it is. I think that John Mack was just dead wrong in his analysis of this. In fact, he tried and tried and tried to ram the abduction phenomenon into his preconceived ideas about consciousness and never could. Most people don’t realize that he gave up. He said, “That’s it. I don’t want to do it anymore,” because it could never conform to his ideas. Two years before he died he stopped doing abduction research altogether, closed up his peer group at Harvard, and told Budd Hopkins that maybe he’d been a little too gullible in this situation of abductions. He could never fit it into what he wanted it to be.”

– – –
Reply from Will Bueche of JEMI:
– – –

Jacobs has made these statements about Dr. John Mack before, notably in a documentary film by David Cherniak, and he remains wrong.

Jacobs’ narrow view of the phenomenon is a holdover from early research which failed to accept that the alien encounter phenomenon involves different levels of reality and is deeply affecting in both positive and negative ways to those who experience it. This difference between Mack and Jacobs is of course widely known, and need not be debated here; Mack wrote expansively of what he learned from experiencers in Passport to the Cosmos, his second book on the subject.

But in particular to your inquiry, Jacobs’ repeated claim that Dr. Mack gave up his interest in alien encounters is simply false. Jacobs made that same claim earlier in the Cherniak documentary.

In fact, Dr. Mack had wrapped up the research branch of his organization (PEER – the Program for Extraordinary Experience Research) a few years before his death, and this was reported in a press release from PEER to MUFON (I wrote that press release myself), but he continued to speak and write on the subject as well as to consult with the experiencers who saw him long-term until his death in 2004.

Visit http://www.skeptiko.com for more in-depth discoveries. You’ll be glad you did.

#ufology #abduction #contactee #ufo #skeptiko #Alex Tsakaris

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Jack Brewer – The UFO Trail

Jack BrewerBlogging credible info on incredible topics, Jack Brewer explores a variety of influences in Ufology. Jack’s interest in the paranormal and subsequent navigation of the UFO community led him to become convinced healthy skepticism was often sorely lacking. His research and writing integrate objectivity and relevant facts into assessments of the all too prevalent fantastic UFO dogma.

Jack’s interests include such topics as alleged alien abduction and the intelligence community, which have been explored on his blog, ‘The UFO Trail’. Brewer also maintains ‘Orlando Paranormal Examiner’, where he covers people and circumstances of interest in ufology and the paranormal community.

Jack is quoted, “At the very least, we should give serious consideration to the extent the intelligence community manipulated public perception while authoring UFO and abduction lore. Intelligence interests have been well documented and demonstrated in circumstances such as the Maury Island fiasco and the supposed contactees of the 1950’s.” Jack has quoted another Ufologist, Regan Lee,  “At the same time, all this covert government activity surrounding aliens and human contact doesn’t negate the reality of literal aliens. Or, what we call aliens.”

“Thanks to Jack Brewer of The UFO Trail for providing me with notice of an excellent two-part piece he wrote on the current state of UFO research, its leaders, its critics and what happens now. If you are at all interested in UFOlogy or how a field of study evolves due to personalities and agendas, have a look.” – Sharon Hill, Doubtful News “In another excellent piece on The UFO Trail blog, Jack Brewer takes the issue of the use of hypnosis in alien abduction research head-on. The post is another example of why, if you care about thinking clearly about matters ufological, you should be reading his blog.” – Dr. Michael S. Heiser, UFO Religions

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Bill Chalker – The OZ Files

bill chalkerI reached out to Bill recently and asked him to share a bit about the Ozzie and his work. Here’s a smattering of his reply, chalking it up to electronic communication and the copy/paste feature. Oh, I love that one.

Speaking of electronic communication, you should check out the new – UFO Truth Magazine. Bill has an article in the first issue, along with many other well-known Ufologists. I’ve had a chance to peruse it and I’d highly recommend getting a copy for your reading pleasure. It’s well written and full of current information.

Now on to the Ozzie himself… The OZ Files gives a unique focus on UFO experiences in the Australian region, as well as commentary and informed analysis of UFO events and research both in Australia and around the world.

I became interested in the mystery of UFOs during the mid to late 1960s during my teenage years. The UFO phenomenon, with its extraordinary worldwide manifestations, was coming under the politicized and militarized myopic lens of science, most notoriously with the so-called Condon Report. This flawed scientific study, published in 1969, unsuccess-fully tried to bury the UFO enigma, but successfully helped marginalize it as a “taboo” subject for mainstream science.

1969 was a turning point for me as I was confronted with the reality of UFOs right on my own doorstep, on the north coast of the Australian east coast state of New South Wales. There was a rash of unusual ground effects in the region, the most prominent being a large flattened saccaline crop site near Bungawalban found on April 17th.

The talk was of flying saucers and that this was a “saucer nest.” The fact that the property involved was owned by the local member of parliament ensured the affair leapt into national prominence. I joined the curious throng. The 15 foot crop had been flattened in four distinct patches, the largest being about 60 feet by 15 feet. Lodging – a phenomenon that can affect crops in a similar manner – was ruled out by locals familiar with it.

Bill is the coordinator of the Sydney based UFO Investigation Centre (UFOIC) & the Anomaly Physical Evidence Group (APEG). Information about sightings and research are most welcome. Author of “The OZ Files – the Australian UFO Story” (1996), “Hair of the Alien – DNA and other forensic evidence of alien abduction” (2005), and “UFO History Keys – Examining the UFO controversy from a historical perspective” (2011).

Inquiries via billozfiles@tpg.com.au or P.O. Box 42, West Pennant Hills, NSW, 2125, AUSTRALIA. In “HAIR of the ALIEN” (order via amazon.com) my primary focus is promoting a forensic scientific approach to examining the alien abduction controversy, concentrating on the DNA approach where compelling biological evidence is available.

Check out his blog at The Oz Files and peruse his other links, too….

http://scienceandtheufocontroversy.blogspot.com.au/

http://aliendnaparadigm.blogspot.com.au/

http://ufoicaustralia.blogspot.com.au/

http://ufohistorykeys.blogspot.com.au/

http://www.auforn.com/Bcintro.htm

http://www.project1947.com/forum/index.htm

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