TO : ALL From: The Monthly Report - December 1996 by Stanton Friedman [http://207.179.129.61/index.htm] [[email protected]] [NOTE: I buffered this and edited it down from HTML and format it for 80 columns. There were several Links in the text and I left them in so you could enter them in your Browser if you wish.] Garbage in.... Garbage Everywhere...!! WE live in a strange time. Incredible communications systems exist to spread the word rapidly via the Internet, Satellite dishes, fiber optics, WWW pages. Unfortunately, besides the obvious advantages of such systems, there are some strong negatives as well. Garbage can be distributed faster and cheaper than ever before and almost at the speed of light. Young people who are more computer literate and at an earlier age than we oldsters, begin to believe that everything they see on the Internet must be true, and even more of a problem, that it represents the total truth about any subject including flying saucers, and all sorts of conspiracies. This is a different sort of problem than the rapid dissemination of pornography and hate literature... or the smearing of an individual... The art of critical thinking is being lost in the shuffle. The need to maintain what I have called a ''Gray basket'' until there is enough information to reach a rational judgment gets lost in the shuffle. Comet Hale-Bopp A case in point is the noise about Comet Hale-Bopp.... which may turn out to be the Comet of the Century. An amateur astronomer using a CCD (Charged Couple Device) instead of film to take a picture of the comet showed what seemed to be a huge body, 4 times the size of the earth, accompanying the comet as it approached the sun. He made a big noise about his discovery. Immediately a group of remote viewers chimed in with a story about intelligent life on board this body coming to earth and all hell would break lose here. In addition radio signals were supposedly being picked up from this huge body, and, of course, kept secret. HUBBLE Telescope pictures were supposedly being withheld because they showed this body as well. These stories reached millions via Art Bell's huge radio-land audience and his Web page [http://www.artbell.com/index.html] and via postings all over the Internet. A companion that size should be easily seen by the multitude of amateur and professional astronomers observing Hale-Bopp. It is very bright, is dumping lots of dust and water in what is apparently its first pass near the sun. Since instrumentation is better today than in the past, it is hoped that more new information about the formation and behavior of comets and perhaps the structure of solar systems will be obtained. After the observations of the many pieces of Shoemaker Levy which impacted in spectacular fashion on Jupiter, it was expected that pieces might be observed. Needless to say there was a backlash to the strange stories from professional and amateur astronomers who had been observing Hale-Bopp, saying there was no companion. The comet was being observed exactly where orbit predictions said it would be, though a large companion should certainly have changed the orbit. Hubble pictures of it have been published. There were others who rushed to use their new CCD devices who found a bright ''object''. Others explained that the location of the ''companion'' was that of a particular bright star and that the amateur had goofed with his star finder program and missed it. I contacted Terence Dickinson, Canada's finest astronomy writer, a former editor of Astronomy magazine, a newly anointed member of the Order of Canada, author of a weekly column in the Toronto Star, Canada's largest circulation newspaper, and also, more than 20 years ago, author of ''The Zeta Reticuli Incident'' the very controversial report on the Marjorie Fish star model research on the Betty Hill Star map. Terry had had a number of calls from people worried about the companion. He checked with a number of professional astronomers and observed and photographed the comet himself.. using film and not CCDs. He noted that there are all kinds of problems with using CCDS if the observer doesn't have a lot of practice. Sort of like there are complications with detec-tion of UFOs by radar. But competent radar operators generally become well aware of these. Terry found no companion either visually or on his pictures [http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap961219.html]. I am reminded that there was a flurry of concern described in an article by artist Alan Hendry that one or both of the stars Zeta I Reticuli or Zeta 2 Reticuli was actually a double star, thus throwing out Marjorie Fish's exciting work because she had said all the Betty Hill pattern stars were single non-variable stars. Hendry didn't actually communicate with the French astronomer, David Bonneau, who had referenced an unpublished comment about the supposed duplicity. When I finally did hear from Bonneau in response to direct inquiry, he noted that neither star was a double. The apparent other star was not there but was an artifact produced by the use of a then new technique called speckle inter-ferometry to try to reduce the influence of atmospheric fluctua-tions on the observation and improve the resolution of the tele-scope. There was even a name given to this problem .. ''Mickey's Ears''. One complication in this case was that Zeta l and Zeta 2 Reticuli can only be observed from the southern hemisphere. For those interested in this fascinating and controversial work, I can offer a limited number of copies of the original 32 page full color booklet ''The Zeta Reticuli Incident'' and a 4 page update (also by Dickinson) for only US 6$ postpaid from UFORI, POB 958, Houlton, ME 04730-0958. To sum up about Hale-Bopp: Having read many postings about the matter, I am satisfied that there is no companion, no threat to earth, no messages being sent. In the words of Ronald Reagan, ''Trust, but verify.'' Have facts carefully in hand before opening mouth. There is a responsibility that goes with communicating new and especially threatening notions to the public. Carl Sagan [http://www.hk.super.net/~paulchui/sagan.html]. Rest in peace. On December 20, the final act was written in the long lasting interplay of the public and Carl Sagan, when he succumbed to complications arising from his 2 year long battle with cancer. I have very mixed feelings about Carl. I am 4 months older than he was and grew up in Linden, New Jersey, right next to his hometown of Rahway. We took the same classes in physics and math in the Division of Physical Sciences at the University of Chicago from l953-1956. After getting my MSc in physics, I left to work in industry on far out, high tech classified R and D programs. He switched to Astronomy and went on to get his doctorate.. a good choice since the launch of Sputnik in l957 greatly increased the need for astronomers. Carl has probably done more than any other Earthling to stimulate the public to think about space and man's place in the universe. He often angered other scientists by appearing in public and on high profile programs such as Johnny Carson (perhaps 25 times) and numerous other TV programs. His books and the TV series COSMOS literally reached hundreds of millions of people world-wide. He also had the courage to get involved in areas often thought to be marginal such as the controversial theories of Dr. Immanuel Velikovsky, appearing in a major session at an American Association for the Advancement of Science Debate. He was also a speaker at the AAAS session on UFOs in Boston in l969, and co-edited the Proceedings as published by Cornell University. He was one of the speakers at the Congressional Hearings on UFOs in July, 1968, and often carried the banner of CSICOP with regard to all matter of paranormal areas especially UFOs. I have discussed Carl's strange approach to UFOs in many papers dating back to l973. He had the courage to talk about these fringe areas, but did not always do his homework, often making pronouncements, but rarely investigating. Some specific examples with regard to UFOs based on his comments in his last book ''Demon Haunted World'' are in my debunkers chapter in TOP SECRET/MAJIC. During my longest ever lecture tour (25 colleges in 35 days in 15 states in l973) I spoke at Cornell and had a few moments together with Carl. He had finally read my paper ''Ufology and the Search for ET Life'' and he recognized that there were serious differences. There was no way to arrange for time together, so he agreed to come to my lecture and sit quietly. I took out some of my zingers. I think it was much to his credit that he attended and didn't take home court advantage to attack. We had very slight contact until 20 years later when I was invited by the UFO Group at Cornell to speak there, by their advisor, a much younger professor in Carl's department. Knowing we had been classmates, the professor arranged to take me from the airport directly to Carl's home for a quiet friendly visit with him and his wife, cookies and coffee. He was too busy to attend the lecture or the two seminars I gave, but a few weeks later he sent me a copy of a preliminary article he was preparing on UFO abductions for PARADE magazine to which he often provided articles. ..asking for comments, omissions etc. He also sent copies of John Mack and others. I found out later that my 12 page response was apparently the longest from the UFO community. (He ignored almost all the advice.) After the Larry King Area 51 Two hour TNT-TV program on Saturday, October 1, l994, where I was live and Carl was on tape, I challenged him to a public formal debate on UFOs.. There were 3 letters each back and forth. Mine were long, his were short. He didn't say no, but he didn't agree. I stopped pushing when I read that he was getting bone marrow transplants. Many have asked me how Carl could be so negative about UFOs and so positive about S.E.T.I. I don't have a really good answer. He certainly accepted whatever Phil Klass said as gospel. He had been quite wrong and apparently honestly so about other controversial matters such as the nuclear winter that would be caused by the oil well fires in Kuwait. Was he doing disinformation for the government taking Donald Menzel's place as a debunker? Was he concerned that he would have to admit he had been wrong in 30 years of UFO bashing and SETI encouragement? If saucers are coming here, who needs radio telescopes? My answer is still ''I don't know''. I do know that we need more people like Carl Sagan willing to kindle the spirit of adventure and stimulate imagination, especially amongst youngsters, about man's place in the universe. I don't see anyone else on the horizon looming as large. He will be missed. A 27 page, 1993, paper ''S.E.T.I., SAGAN, and Science'' including my review of his abduction piece as well as other correspondence between us and my ''Challenge to S.E.T.I. Specialists'' is available from UFORI $4. postpaid. WORMWOOD Another individual posted to Art Bell a very frightening letter claiming he had had access to highly classified material at the Vatican Archives, had seen some material he wasn't supposed to see, and was on the run hiding, with his family having been already been killed by those trying to silence him. Another great story with threatening overtones for mankind. Of course no evidence was presented. Sounds like a science fiction plot. WORMWOOD. These stories always take longer to die then to be spread. ''TOP SECRET/MAJIC'' My apologies to those who have tried to obtain TSM and been told it was out of stock. Marlowe and Company was slow about getting it to the printer for a second printing, so more than 1300 copies are already on back order. The new printing should be done early in January. Those wanting autographed copies can get them from UFORI for $25. postpaid. There will be German, UK, and Australian versions out within a few months. There have been a number of friendly Email and fax comments. I am still looking for death bed confessions. Some early history of Area 51 and S-4 pre l955 would also be greatly appreciated. Several MJ-12 research projects are in progress... about the Truman signature, the typeface on the Truman-Forrestal memo, and the SPECIAL Operating Manual 1.01 about ET wreckage and alien bodies. Stay tuned. - End of File - _______________________________________________________________________________ Till later, MAC??? / tNATOA / [PRo-iauR]