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OMEGARIP.OFF
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1989-12-31
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<<UFONET I>> * 416-237-1204 * PC-Pursuitable * File Requestable * HST
* 24 Hour Operation * Sysop - Tom Mickus * Toronto * FREE
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OMEGARIP.OFF - Review of the 1989 Omega UFO Conference
- by Tom Mickus (pronounced MIKE-US!)
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Note: The following file contains numerous spelling errors and other
linguistic deficiences, for which the author was too lazy to go
back over and correct.
======================================================================
Weekend Rip-off In Connecticut: UFOlogy's Shame
-----------------------------------------------
So how did you spend the wknd of Nov.11 & 12th? Well, if you
were smart, you were probably drinking beer and watching football. For
myself, I decided to head to the East Coast to do some gambling, not in
Atlantic City mind you, but in North Haven, Conneticut, the no-man's
wasteland mid-way between New York City and Boston.
I was there to attend the much touted "The UFO Experience" as
sponsored by Omega Communications, an organization run by John White,
noted fringe author. My main objection with this Conference, and which
I'll get straight out, is the price. In order to attend, one must have
paid either $120 over a month in advance, or $150 at the door. For a
conference such as this, the price was outrageous and it became readily
apparent that White's motivation was not philanthropic, but strictly
commercial. This fact was further brought home to me by the fact that
they were charging ridiculous fees even for third-party presenters, such
as with Arcturus Books which declined to attend due to the cost. But you
say, isn't it the profit motive that made this country what it is? A
fair profit yes, but not to the degree that White was asking. Its peop
and organizations like him which make a good argument for being a communist,
but even that is no longer in vogue these days.
Before I get to the substance of the conference, a few words are
in order with regard to the location chosen by Mr. White. He lives in
Conneticut, so its understandable that he would not want to incovenience
himself with regard to a location. Being that it is mid-way between
NYC and Boston, I can understand why he would want something in the general
vicinity, but North Haven? Who ever heard of North Haven? What this place
is a road-side stop, with one hotel, and more than enough sub-standard
eateries to keep everyone's arteries greased up for life. I will
always remember North Haven, since it was there that I had some of the
worst seafood in my entire life. Why White never chose a place such as
New Haven or Hartford, is easy to ascertain, it has to do with cost. You
see, the Ramada in North Haven is a run-down place, lacking all the amenities
you normally expect in a $80 a night place of lodging. The staff was
inexperienced, with the switchboard operator not even knowing how to put
through a collect-call. There was no heat in the hallways, and there
was no coffee shop, with the one restaurant having closed down early at
night. There was a bar, but it was poorly designed and played pathetic
music. I felt sorry for the locals. To top it all off, the damn ice
machine didn't work!
However, I reserve my greatest scorn for John White, since he was
the architect of this fiasco. But its one thing to have complaints for
the hotel arrangement, another thing to not have your own act together.
Believe it or not, the sound system didn't work! How such a blunder as
this could have been made, should speak volumes about John White's organization
which has the word "communications" in its name! Having to strain while
listening to the speaker's presentations is an unforgiveable sin. Even worse,
the problem was never fully rectified for the full two days! For that
offense, Mr. White should have refunded some money, but that would be th
last thing that would enter into John White's mind.
Unbeknowst to those attending until they arrived, it was possible
to pay for individual talks at $15 a crack, instead of paying $120 or $150
for the entire two days. If I had known this, I could have saved myself
probably $75. But to have made people aware of this fact would have
required some honesty and forthrightness on the part of John White, something
he seems to be lacking.
Now to the conference itself. The list of speakers was for the d
most part, good. The people attending, 95% from the NYC-Boston area, were
likewise a good mix. It was for these two reasons that the conference
turned out for me to be a success. More interesting than the speeches
themselves, was the backroom conversations and discussions which are accompany
almost any gathering of UFO researchers and enthusiasts. This conference
was no exception.
Among the people I had the priviledge of meeting and speaking with
were Bill Moore, Jerry Clark, Walt Andrus, Betty Andreasson, Whitley Streiber,
John Keel, Bill Knell, and numerous others. They were the reason I attended,
not to enrich John White's pockets. I had some good exchanges with several
of these individuals, most notably with Bill Moore. Unlike others, I've
always tried to maintain a balanced view with regard to Bill Moore and his
actions with regard to trying to unveil the government coverup. His method
is certainly unorthodox, but certainly not without precedent. I was impressed
with his speech in Vegas, and was further impressed with what he had to
say here in North Haven. He is a remarkable individual, and one who we
shouldn't ignore. He has made more progress in this field than most of
his detractors combined. Sure his cards aren't all on the table just yet, but
he is getting closer to the truth all the time. Towards this end, Bill Moore
deserves our support, but this of course is my own humble opinion, and one
which I realize is not widely applauded although I offer no apologies for
my own position.
As to the speaker presentations, here are some of my thoughts. I
attended most of the speeches, although not all. One of the first noteworthy
ones, was by Bill Moore himself. Although suffering from a cold, Bill managed
to elaborate on issues raised in his Vegas speech, and did a fairly good
job of updating us on the MJ-12 documents research. As Bill elaborates on
in his recent issue of "FOCUS", the upcoming Friedman report on the authenticity
of 3 particular MJ-12 docs is that of, "one strong, one weak and one leaning
positive but still open to question." These relate to the Eisenhower briefing
document of November 1952, the Cutler-Twining memo of 1954 and the the Sept.
1947 Truman memorandum, although not necessarily in that order.
John Keel's lecture was interesting, but somewhat off-topic since he
got sidetracked from discussing the MIB material. John is full of lots of
anecdotal information, and seems to have the ability to see UFOs almost
at will, which may something in itself. Nonetheless, his presentation
was interesting and entertaining, true to the style of John Keel.
Kenneth Ring's talk was also interesting, although he admitted that
his data and conclusions can be appropriated by almost any group wishing to
advance certain theories. Basically, it had to do with the fact that UFO
"abductees" (along with people who've had Near-Death-Experiences (NDEs)) are
"electro-sensitive" along with the fact that they've had troubled childhoods
by way of abuse.
Whitley Streiber had the best attended talk of them all, and perhaps
one of the most interesting. Whitley came across as quite believable, and
indeed with the release of his film, seemded to be stressed out. Evidently
he is walking a thin-line of sorts, as exemplified by his rapid speaking and
lack of tol