History of the UFO Phenomena

[Eagle Eye]

The history of the worldwide UFO phenomena since the end of the Second World War, been rife with mystery. Sightings of strange crafts and beings from one end of the Earth's surface to the other, in addition to sightings in space, have continued throughout the 20th century, and into the early 21st century. Many of the stories associated with UFOs, from crashes and alleged captured non-human beings, to direct encounters and UFO waves sighted filmed, and photographed have deeply mystified the world for decades, filling books, documentaries and films with more questions than answers.

The classification of UFO-related reports range from close encounters to radar sightings to sightings in the daytime. Below is the basic classification list still in use today ~

CE-I = Close Encounters of the First Kind (objects within 500 feet)

CE-II = CE-I with Physical traces and/or Physiological Reactions

CE-III = CE-I with Occupants in view

CE-IV = So-called Alien Abductions

R/V = Simultaneous Radar & Visual sighting

NL = Night Lights

DD = Daylight Discs

One of the best examinations of the UFO phenomena was done by Temple University professor Dr. David Jacobs, whose 1975 book titled, The UFO Controversy in America, still remains among the most insightful examinations into the subject along with those of Arizona physicist Dr. James McDonald, considered one of the first scientists to pioneer investigation of the UFO phenomena -

Also - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uy1DvS-0eCA

Although most of the world's public says they "believe" in the reality of UFOs, the world's conventional scientific community has continued the policy of not seriously studying the subject on a public scale, though there have been insiders who say that the UFO subject has long been rated by governments around the world as "above top secret" for decades.

However, decades of failure by conventional scientists to publicly study the UFO phenomena has led to many people worldwide to take it upon themselves to seriously ask the questions posed by the global sightings and filmed behaviors of many kinds of crafts performing aerodynamics that defy our laws of physics. How is this possible?

Researchers who have studied the UFO phenomena in-depth have settled on three important moments in the 20th century which has dominated policy and scientific treatment of the subject for decades:

1. The UFO wave of the summer of 1947 and the consequent US Air Force investigation of the disks (Project Sign) and their "Estimate of the Situation."

2. The UFO wave of the summer of 1952 and UFO flap over Washington, DC. The reaction and culmination of UFOs as it related to the new national security state implemented by U.S. President Truman and the CIA, which ultimately led to the Top Secret Robertson Panel which determined national security policy toward UFOs in the 1950s.

3. The rise of the major series of UFO flaps of the mid-1960s and the advent of Dr. Allen Hynek's "swamp gas" explanation and public outcry that led to the U.S. Air Force sponsoring their own investigation that ultimately resulted in the failed Condon Project Report, that was doomed from the start in explaining the UFO phenomena, but which created an atmosphere of denial in the conventional scientific community.

The failure of conventional science to honestly study the UFO phenomena due to the rise of the national security state, many independent scientists and researchers, along with former military officers and researchers, formed alliances to scientifically study the UFO phenomena. This led to the creation of Ufology, or UFO science. The last known time line of the phenomena was developed by the UFO Research Coalition:

See - http://www.ufoscience.org/history/timeline-ufo-history.html

Maps of Major Waves, or UFO "Flaps" World Wide - http://www.ufoscience.org/history/flapmap2.jpg

The UFO Research Coalition has also gathered up the works of one of the most respected scientists who studied the UFO phenomena, Dr. James McDonald.

"James Edward McDonald received his Ph.D. in physics from Iowa State University in 1951, then worked there as an assistant professor in meteorology. He was a research physicist in the University of Chicago's department of meteorology (1953-54). In 1954 he joined the University of Arizona faculty, first as an associate professor (1954-56), then as a full professor in the department of meteorology (1956-71). McDonald was also a senior physicist in the University's Institute of Atmospheric Physics, and served as both associate director (1954-56) and scientific director (1956-57). He also advised numerous federal agencies, including the National Science Foundation, The Office of Naval Research, the National Academy of Sciences, and the Environmental Science Service Administration.

During the mid-late 1960s, McDonald became intensively involved in UFO research, interviewing hundreds of UFO witnesses and lecturing widely on the subject to professional societies. His talks emphasized the need for a serious scientific study, adding that he considered the best reports to be evidence of extraterrestrial visitation. He also played an important role in Congressional UFO hearings in 1968.

Privately, McDonald analyzed all Project Blue Book case files, convincing him that the Air Force had performed an entirely inadequate investigation, which appeared to have been more concerned with internal politics rather than real science. He also reviewed the cases of the Air Force's sponsored University of Colorado UFO study, and concluded that many of their explanations were not well founded either. McDonald left no book but privately published many monographs based on his lecture presentations."

McDonald prepared his summary of the UFO phenomena in 1967 for the American Society of Newspaper Editors in Washington D.C., and titled it, "UFOs: Greatest Scientific Problem Of Our Times?" See ~ http://www.ufoscience.org/history/McDonald/McDonald1.pdf

At that time in 1967, McDonald surmised that there was no sensible alternative that UFOs are extra-terrestrial probes from somewhere else. He also said in 1967 that "we are 20 years behind in scientific study of this question."

For McDonald's entire presentation, See - http://www.ufoscience.org/history/james-mcdonal.html

The questions relating to the worldwide UFO phenomena have only increased over the decades as sightings continue to take place both within and outside of the Earth's atmosphere. People continue to ask what are these crafts, and beings said to have been encountered by humans. What do they want, and what does the history of the multiple kinds of anomalous events associated with the UFO phenomena mean for us on Earth?

UFO Research Coalition's Suggested Reading List on the History of The UFO Phenomena ~

Recommended Reading for the General Reader

J. Allen Hynek, The UFO Experience (1972)

For twenty years Dr. J. Allen Hynek served as a consultant to Project Blue Book, and The UFO Experience is his response to the official Air Force debunking policies and a summation of what he had learned about the UFO phenomenon. Hynek presents an eloquent and accessible case for the continuing scientific study of UFOs and offers a classification system that inspired the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Moreover, his witness profiles shatter the officially fostered fallacy that those who see UFOs are ignorant or insane.

Lawrence Fawcett & Berry Greenwood, UFO Cover-Up (1992)

Using government documents released through FOIA, Fawcett and Greenwood build a convincing scenario that traces the history of official efforts to conceal UFO evidence.

Jerome Clark, The UFO Encyclopedia (3 vols.)

Modern (post-1970's) UFO books of excellent scholarship and broad coverage are difficult to come by. Clark's incredible tour-de-force of short historical-analytical essays fills that void. The whole panoply of serious UFOlogy to carnival UFOria is covered in fine fashion.

C. D. B. Bryan, Close Encounters of the Fourth Kind (1995)

Bryan, a respected mainstream journalist, details his reflections on the 1992 abduction conference at M.I.T. and concludes there is merit in researching these experiences.

Kevin Randle and Don Schmitt, The Truth about the UFO Crash at Roswell (1994)

This second book by the authors is the definitive account of the Roswell crash and retrieval.

Timothy Good, Above Top Secret (1989)

Timothy Good, British researcher, offers an exhaustive historical study of official, worldwide suppression of UFO evidence.

Travis Walton, Fire in the Sky: The Walton Experience (1996)

This is Walton's personal account of his controversial experience, an expanded version of his 1976 book, The Walton Experience.

Donald E. Keyhoe, Flying Saucers from Outer Space (1953)

Keyhoe essentially broke open the official log jam of government UFO cover-ups with his first book, The Flying Saucers are Real. This, his second book, continues in the same vein and argues for an end to saucer secrecy.

Budd Hopkins, Intruders (1987)

Intruders details Hopkins' investigation into the experiences of Kathie Davis, which leads him to conclude that ETs are collecting and experimenting with genetic material taken from abductees.

Richard Haines, UFO Phenomena and the Behavioral Scientist

David Jacobs, Secret Life: Firsthand Accounts of UFO Abductions (1992)

A compelling collection of abduction cases drawn from the author’s personal investigations. Jacobs explores the typical abduction scenario in detail.

Walter Webb, Encounter at Buff Ledge: A UFO Case History (1994)

Webb, one of the leading UFO investigators of all time, presents the results of his extremely thorough investigation of a double abduction case. Most notably, the two witnesses, teenagers at the time, never discussed the event after it occurred. Ten years later, both consciously and under hypnosis, they recalled numerous matching details of the experience. The book makes a compelling case for the reality of this abduction event.

Paul Devereux, Earth Lights Revelation: UFOs and Mystery Lightform Phenomena (1990)

Hilary Evans & Dennis Stacy, ed., UFOs 1947-1997 From Arnold to Abductees: Fifty years of Flying Saucers (1997)

Carl Sagan & Thornton Page, Eds., UFO's A Scientific Debate (1972)

A book that was the outgrowth of a conference organized by the two editors. It includes a wide range of opinion on the UFO subject. Contributors include J. Allen Hynek, James McDonald, Donald Menzel and Carl Sagan.

John Fuller, The Interrupted Journey: Two Lost Hours "Aboard a Flying Saucers" (1966)

The famous Hill abduction is detailed here with lengthy transcriptions of tape recorded hypnotic regression sessions. This is still one of the most convincing cases of an alleged abduction by aliens.

Raymond Fowler, The Allagash Abductions: Undeniable Evidence of Alien Interventions (1993)

Fowler, long-time UFO investigator, details one of the best multiple witness alien abduction cases on record.

Bob Pratt, UFO Danger Zone: Terror and Death in Brazil--Where Next? (1996)

J. Allen Hynek, The Hynek UFO Report (1977)

The following books may be out of print, but are worth searching for in used bookstores and libraries:

Edward J. Ruppelt, The Report on Unidentified Flying Objects (1956)

Jenny Randles, UFO Conspiracy (1987)

Edward Condon, ed., Scientific Study of Unidentified Flying Objects (1968)

Allen Hendry, The UFO Handbook (1979)

Jacques and Janine Vallee, Challenge to Science: The UFO Enigma (1966)

Jenny Randles, UFO Reality (1983)

Hilary Evans & John Spencer, ed., UFOs 1947-1987: The 40-Year Search for an Explanation (1987)

David M. Jacobs, The UFO Controversy in America (1975)

Recommended Reading for the Advanced Reader

Clark, Jerome. (1990-1994). The UFO Encyclopedia. (Vols. 1-3). Detroit, MI: Omnigraphics.

Modern (post-1970's) UFO books of excellent scholarship and broad coverage are difficult to come by. Clark's incredible tour-de-force of short historical-analytical essays fills that void. The whole panoply of serious UFOlogy to carnival UFOria is covered in fine fashion.

Greenwood, Barry & Fawcett, Lawrence. (1992). UFO Cover-Up. NY: Barnes & Noble Books. (Reprinted from Clear Intent by Barry Green and Lawrence Fawcett. 1984. NJ: Prentice Hall)

The best book on the once-controversial but now widely recognized extent of secret government interest in UFOs. Working from a large quantity of FOIA'd declassified documents, the authors give an interesting "just the facts" style of presentation of the revealed information.

Emmons, Charles. (1997). At the Threshold. Tigard, OR: Wildflower Press.

Excellent in the illumination of academic response or non-response, appropriate or inappropriate to the UFO anomaly.

Haines, Richard. (Ed.). (1979). UFO Phenomena and the Behavioral Scientist. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow.

A dozen intelligent essays by scholars in a variety of fields. Most of these authors are psychologists or sociologists. Topics emphasize a focus upon UFO reporters.

Hall, Richard. (Ed.). (1997). The UFO Evidence. NY: Barnes & Noble Books. (Reprinted from The UFO Evidence by Richard Hall, Ed., 1964, Washington DC: NICAP).

This compilation of case histories, grouped into categories of report type (e.g., radar, airpilots, electromagnetic effects), was once the only outstanding "research" publication available. Initially used to interest members of Congress and their staffs to push for hearings, this volume is still an impressive way to become aware of the amount and quality of reports.

Hall, Richard. (2000). The UFO Evidence, Volume II A Thirty-Year Report. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow.

A compilation of cases of all types from the mid-1960s until the end of the 1990s. The most complete reference available that provides a solid and comprehensive review of the all types of evidential and compelling UFO reports. Presents sightings from a wide variety of professionals, and also discusses in-depth the characteristics of the UFO phenomenon.

Hendry, Allan. (1979). The UFO Handbook: A Guide to Investigating, Evaluating and Reporting UFO Sightings. NY: Doubleday.

This is one of the three or four choices for "manuals", or "how-to" properly do UFO field research and case work. It is written very conservatively and points out the many errors made by witnesses and investigators.

Hynek, J. Allen. (1972). The UFO Experience: A Scientific Inquiry. Chicago, IL: Henry Regnery.

Dr. Hynek was a fine educator and the Air Force's science consultant on UFOs from 1949-1969. His book is the "textbook" of the field, written by its acknowledged authority.

Jacobs, David. (1975). The UFO Controversy in America. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.

This is the history of the topic and a scholarly work of the first rank, which has stood the test of time. If one could only read two things, this and Dr. Hynek's (above) would be the proper choices for a well-grounded overview.

Pritchard, A., Pritchard, D., Mack, J. E., Kasey. P, & Yapp, C. (Eds.). (1994). Alien Discussions: Proceedings of the Abduction Study Conference held at M.I.T. Cambridge, MA: North Cambridge Press.

The controversial field of alleged UFO abductions is difficult to sort out for recommendation at this time. The safest thing to do is to immerse oneself in the dynamic roil which characterizes the field now. This is interestingly provided by these proceedings of the Abduction Study Conference held at MIT in 1992.

Ruppelt, Captain Edward. (1956). The Report on Unidentified Flying Objects. NY: Doubleday.

Captain Ruppelt's inside look at the Air Force's Project Blue Book never ages. It offers the reader a rare chance to see behind the mirror of the UFO Project during a relatively uncontaminated time. Accurate and unemotional.

Sagan, Carl, & Page, Thornton. (Eds.). (1972). UFOs: A Scientific Debate. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.

These are the papers of the 1969 AAAS Symposium's controversial UFO meeting. A wide spectrum of academic views are included both by proponents and rejectors, and showing a wide range of depth of knowledge about the subject discussed.

U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science and Astronautics. Symposium on Unidentified Flying Objects. Hearings, Ninetieth Congress, Second Session, July 29, 1968. Washington DC: Government Printing Office.

A mainly sympathetic set of presentations by academic experts (including James McDonald, Hynek, Sagan) to the House Committee on Science and Astronautics.

Vallee, Jacques. (1965). Anatomy of a Phenomenon: Unidentified Objects in Space A Scientific Appraisal. Chicago, IL: Henry Regnery.

Possibly the first book written more-or-less in academic style, and which received favorable responses by the Air Force and conservative academics as a reasonable and interesting presentation of the phenomenon.

Vallee, Jacques. (1967). Challenge to Science: The UFO Enigma. Chicago, IL: Henry Regnery.

Vallee's follow-up to Anatomy continuing in the same intellectual vein. Attempts to push the patterns in the first book forward and discuss research directions. Still valuable.

Recommended Articles, a brief selection:

General articles by three scientists who "broke ground" in establishing a public presence of scientist interest in UFO phenomena:

Hynek, J. Allen. (1966, December 17). Are flying saucers real? Saturday Evening Post,17-21.

____________. (1969). The Condon report an UFOs. Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, XXV(4), 39-42.

____________. (1975). What you should know about UFOs, Cincinnati Horizons, 5(1), 1-7. CUFOS reprint.

____________. (1981, July). The UFO phenomenon. Technology Review, 51-58.

McDonald, James E. (1967, April 22). UFOs: Greatest scientific problem of our times? American Society of Newspaper Editors, 1-28.

______________. (1970, November 17-20). Meteorological factors in unidentified radar returns. Paper presented at the meeting of the Fourteenth Radar Meteorology Conference, Tucson, Arizona.

Note to Readers: McDonald papers are difficult to locate for reading. However, they are significant and worth the effort. Some papers are obtainable through the Center for UFO Studies.

______________. (1971, July). UFO encounter 1. Astronautics and Aeronautics, 9, 66-70.

Salisbury, Frank. (1967, January). The scientists and the UFO. Bioscience, 15-24.

____________. (1975, August). Recent developments in the scientific study of UFOs, Bioscience, 505-512.

Articles concerned with case researches:

Baker, R.M.L. (1981). Observational evidence of anomalistic phenomena. Journal of the Astronautical Sciences, XV(1), 31-36.

Bounias, Michael. (1990). Biochemical traumatology...in correlation with a UFO landing. Journal of Scientific Exploration, 4(1), 1-18.

Faruk, Erol. (1989). The Dephos case. Journal of UFO Studies, 1, 41-66.

Haines, Richard. (1987). Analysis of a UFO photograph. Journal of Scientific Exploration, 1(2), 129-148.

Haines, Richard & Vallee, Jacques. (1989). Photo analysis of an aerial disc over Costa Rica. Journal of Scientific Exploration, 3(2), 113-132.

Haines, Richard & Vallee, Jacques. (1990). Photo analysis of an aerial disc over Costa Rica. Journal of Scientific Exploration, 4(1), 71-74.

Johnson, Donald. (1988). Size, distance and duration parameters of the ignition-interference effect. In M. Hynek (Ed.), The Spectrum of UFO Research: The Proceedings of the Second CUFOS Conferences held September 25-27, 1981 in Chicago, Illinois. (pp.123-152). Evanston, IL: J. Allen Hynek Center for UFO Studies.

Maccabee, Bruce. (1988). The McMinnville photos. In M. Hynek (Ed.), The Spectrum of UFO Research: The Proceedings of the Second CUFOS Conference held September 25-27, 1981 in Chicago, Illinois. (pp.13-57). Evanston, IL: J. Allen Hynek Center for UFO Studies.

Maccabee, Bruce. (1987). Analysis and discussion of images. Journal of Scientific Exploration, 1(2), 149-190.

McDonald, James. (1971, July). UFO encounter 1. Astronautics and Aeronautics, 9, 66-70.

Rodeghier, Mark. (1988). A summary of vehicle interference reports. In M. Hynek (Ed.), The Spectrum of UFO Research: The Proceedings of the Second CUFOS Conference held September 25-27, 1981 in Evanston, Illinois. (pp.153-165). Chicago, IL: J. Allen Hynek Center for UFO Studies.

Rutkowski, Chris. (1994). The Falcon Lake case. Journal of UFO Studies, 4, 1-34.

Swords, Michael & Faruk, Erol. (1991). Delphos, Kansas soil analysis. Journal of UFO Studies, 3, 115-138.

Thayer, Gordon. (1971, September). UFO encounter 2. Astronautics and Aeronautics, 9, 60-64. [The Lakenheath (U.K.) radar-visual case.]

Velasco, Jean-Jacques.(1990). Report on the analysis of anomalous physical traces. Journal of Scientific Exploration, 4(1), 27-48. [Trans-en-Provence case].

Walker, Walter & Johnson, Robert. (1992). Further studies on the Ubatuba UFO magnesium samples. Journal of UFO Studies, 4, 1-37.

Articles concerned with Abduction Researches:

Appelle, Stuart. (1995/1996). The abduction experience: A critical evaluation of theory and evidence. Journal of UFO Studies, 6, 29-78.

Bullard, Thomas. (1989). Hypnosis and UFO abductions: A troubled relationship. Journal of UFO Studies, 1, 3-40.

Ring, Kenneth., & Rosing, Christopher. (1990). The Omega Project. Journal of UFO Studies, 2, 59-98.

Rodeghier, Mark, Goodpaster, Jeff, & Blatterbauer, Sandy. (1991). Psychosocial characteristics of abductees. Journal of UFO Studies, 3, 59-90.

Wilson, John. (1990). Post-traumatic stress disorder and experienced anomalous trauma. Journal of UFO Studies, 2, 1-17.

Articles concerned with government and academic treatment of the UFO subject:

Blake, Joseph A. (1979). UFOlogy: The intellectual development and social context of the study of unidentified flying objects. In Roy Wallis (Ed.). On the Margins of Science. Social Review. Monograph No. 27. Keele, Staffs: University of Keele.

Sturrock, Peter. (1987). Analysis of the Condon report on the Colorado UFO project. Journal of Scientific Exploration, 1(1), 75-100.

Sturrock, Peter. (1994). Report on a survey of the membership of the American Astronomical Society concerning the UFO problem. Journal of Scientific Exploration, 8(1), 1-46.

Sturrock, Peter. (1994). Report on a survey of the membership of the American Astronomical Society concerning the UFO problem. Journal of Scientific Exploration, 8(2), 153-196.

Sturrock, Peter. (1994). Report on a survey of the membership of the American Astronomical Society concerning the UFO problem. Journal of Scientific Exploration, 8(3), 309-346.

Swords, Michael. (1994). Literature review: SETI/ETI and UFOs. Journal of UFO Studies, 5, 141-156.

Swords, Michael. (1995/1996). The university of Colorado UFO project. Journal of UFO Studies, 6, 149-184.

Swords, Michael. (in press). Project SIGN and the estimate of the situation. Journal of UFO Studies, 7.

Westrum, Ronald. (1977). Social intelligence about anomalies: The case of UFOs. Social Studies of Science, 7, 271-302.

Articles of General Interest:

Bullard, Thomas. (1991). The folkloric dimensions of the UFO phenomenon. Journal of UFO Studies, 3, 1-57.

Swords, Michael. (1989). Science and the extraterrestrial hypothesis in UFOlogy. Journal of UFO Studies, 1, 67-102.

Swords, Michael. (1993). A guide to UFO research. Journal of Scientific Exploration, 7(1), 65-87

[Czero 101]

Interesting how about 80% of the above post has been cut and pasted directly from other webpages and yet those sources have not been cited....

Cz

EDITED for typos...

Edited June 20, 2009 by Czero 101

[Eagle Eye]

Interesting how about 90% of the above post has been cut and pasted directly from other webpages and yet those sources have not been cited....

Cz

The sources are included and cited, along with the web pages as well, provided by me. *SNIP*

Edited June 21, 2009 by Lilly
comment not required

[Czero 101]

The sources are included and cited, along with the web pages as well, provided by me. If you cannot learn to discuss the topic of the thread which is the History of the UFO Phenomena, then I suggest you go play elsewhere, as the thread is for serious discussion and not for child's games Czero. Thanks.

Really?

I guess I have missed where you've cited the sources for your reading list from http://www.cufos.org/books.html and http://www.cufos.org/advbooks.html or where you cited http://www.ufoscience.org/ufo-phenomenon/phenomenon.html as a source for other parts of your post.

*SNIP*

Cz

EDITED for typos...

Edited June 21, 2009 by Lilly
comment not required

[D1CKY D1AMOND]

The greatest scientific problem of all time is figuring out how we will survive the next 100 years and emerge prosperous.

[raoulduke666]

Thanks for the summary of books and articles. I've wanted someone to compile a lot of different resource material *SNIP*

Edited June 21, 2009 by Lilly
more of the same

[Eagle Eye]

Really?

I guess I have missed where you've cited the sources for your reading list from http://www.cufos.org/books.html and http://www.cufos.org/advbooks.html or where you cited http://www.ufoscience.org/ufo-phenomenon/phenomenon.html as a source for other parts of your post.

*SNIP*

Cz

EDITED for typos...

*SNIP*

Edited June 21, 2009 by Lilly
uncalled for remarks

[Lt_Ripley]

*SNIP*

I think the mods know how to do their job

*Yes, we do know how.*

Edited June 21, 2009 by Lilly
uncalled for comments

[Eagle Eye]

Thanks for the summary of books and articles. I've wanted someone to compile a lot of different resource material *SNIP*

Thanks. There are a lot more summaries, but the list compiled by the UFO Coalition refers to some of the scientific works, including those by McDonald that were included, along with the sources I cited from them, on the topic and the links I provided. *SNIP*

Edited June 21, 2009 by Lilly
...and more of the same

[Czero 101]

Thanks for the summary of books and articles. I've wanted someone to compile a lot of different resource material and quit complaining Czero.

I'm just following his example of insisting that posters follow rules and what he calls "decorum". Posting material without citing sources is hardly what one would call "following decorum".

*SNIP*

*Citing sources including the webpages the text was copied from is required.*

Edited June 21, 2009 by Lilly
...and still more

[Czero 101]

you know Czero ..... it's funny when one researches how much you love reminding others of the rules.. control issues much ? lol

Eagle Eye was the one who initiated the whole "stick to the rules / decorum" issue recently.

Are you saying that he is somehow exempt from the very things he was complaining about?

Cz

*No one is exempt from following UM rules*

Edited June 21, 2009 by Lilly
addition

[Czero 101]

Thanks. There are a lot more summaries, but the list compiled by the UFO Coalition refers to some of the scientific works, including those by McDonald that were included, along with the sources I cited from them, on the topic and the links I provided.*SNIP*

I think you'll find I take this topic very seriously. I just take a different position than you.

Its certain posters and their less than straightforward posting practices that I have problems with.

Cz

Edited June 21, 2009 by Lilly
quote removed

[Eagle Eye]

I'm just following his example of insisting that posters follow rules and what he calls "decorum". Posting material without citing sources is hardly what one would call "following decorum".

A quick search of my recent posts shows only two replies to anything he has said in the seven days. *SNIP*

Cz

*SNIP*

Edited June 21, 2009 by Lilly
inflammatory remarks removed

[D1CKY D1AMOND]

I think you'll find I take this topic very seriously. I just take a different position than you.

*SNIP*

Cz

Then report them to the mods. *SNIP*

Edited June 21, 2009 by Lilly
let the mods moderate

[Eagle Eye]

The greatest scientific problem of all time is figuring out how we will survive the next 100 years and emerge prosperous.

That may be true, but the thread is about the History of the UFO Phenomena.

[Drago]

You know, this is only slightly related to the topic, but: I noticed the Estimate was mentioned a couple of times in the OP. Sometimes I wonder if the 'Estimate of the Situation' would mean nearly as much as it does today if copies had survived. If we had copies, I don't think it'd be much more than a curiosity to today's UFO researchers. The military kind of shot itself in the foot over that one. But at the same time it's hard to know just how badly wounded their foot is, since we don't know the exact contents.

[Eagle Eye]

You know, this is only slightly related to the topic, but: I noticed the Estimate was mentioned a couple of times in the OP. Sometimes I wonder if the 'Estimate of the Situation' would mean nearly as much as it does today if copies had survived. If we had copies, I don't think it'd be much more than a curiosity to today's UFO researchers. The military kind of shot itself in the foot over that one. But at the same time it's hard to know just how badly wounded their foot is, since we don't know the exact contents.

Dr. McDonald said he believed that the decision made in January 1953 was the fatal mistake in dealing with the UFO phenomena, since it was made a national security concern and allowed the Air Force to then muck up the initial investigations with political in-fighting and swift policy views in several directions, thus ending with the mockery that was Blue Book by the end of the 1960s. From that point on the estimate of the situation has been convoluted since - at least publicly.

[Eagle Eye]

I think you'll find I take this topic very seriously. I just take a different position than you.

Its certain posters and their less than straightforward posting practices that I have problems with.

Cz

I don't take any position except to continue to study the very real phenomena of UFOs, which is the proper role of anyone who takes this subject seriously. We continue to have multiple sightings throughout the world - see - http://www.nuforc.org/webreports/ndxevent.html

This phenomena is at the forefront of many of the significant questions humanity has had of the anomalous events of the past six decades (even much further throughout human history) and it is the responsibility of all of us to continue to ask serious questions about the role this phenomena has on our lives here - today - on the Earth, and to answer the long-standing questions that still remain from the past.

[Lilly]

I've just put in considerable effort to clean up all of the ad hom and uncalled for comments in this thread. This ends now...if it does not the thread will be closed and official warnings will be issued to all involved.

[Eagle Eye]

Thanks for the summary of books and articles. I've wanted someone to compile a lot of different resource material *SNIP*

Dr. McDonald's research is one of the most detailed in the history of this phenomena, and his works in the form of articles and investigations hold the most promise for understanding the early history of the UFO phenomena since the end of the Second World War. His findings on the debunking works of Menzel and Klass are undoubtedly the most thorough since McDonald was expert in dealing with atmospheric phenomena as related to this subject.

I also think that McDonald got it right when he surmised that the early attempts at understanding the UFO phenomena was simply "fouled up" and not covered up initially, as he believed the Air Force made a complete mess of their investigations. It looks to be true from the lack of scientific analysis done, and then the later entry of Menzel and Klass into the UFO arena to debunk nearly every case that was recorded.