CNI News Presents


ISCNI*Flash 1.7 - June 16, 1995




Welcome to ISCNI*Flash. Highlights in this issue are:


* * ISCNI WILL SOON BE ON THE WORLD WIDE WEB! * *

ISCNI's own Home Page will officially "open for business" on July 15.
As of mid-June, there is a temporary page at our Web location. Intrepid Web surfers won't have much trouble finding its whereabouts -- but rest assured, the "real thing" will be much more extensive and interesting. Stay tuned!



BULLETIN: PARADE MAG FALSELY CALLS STRIEBER EPILEPTIC

On Sunday, June 11, an article appeared in the nationally syndicated PARADE Magazine stating that author Whitley Strieber is an epileptic. This allegation can seriously undermine Strieber's claims of contact with "the visitors," as some skeptics have argued that "temporal lobe epilepsy" is a likely cause of hallucinatory or delusional experiences of "abduction." As Strieber notes below, he has already been tested for this malady and found to be not epileptic. PARADE therefore stands accused of a potentially serious misrepresentation of fact which, whether intentional or not, attacks the validity of contact experiences such as those described by Strieber in his new book "Breakthrough."

Strieber's letter reads as follows:

On June 11, Parade Magazine falsely stated that I am an epileptic, implying that they got this information from the Epilepsy Foundation of America. I am not an epileptic and have been extensively tested for this disease and diagnosed with a normal brain, a fact that I have stated in my books and many interviews. At no time has Parade or the Epilepsy Foundation or -- in fact -- anybody ever asked to see my medical records on this matter.

Parade made a false statement, whatever their source. It was calculated to spread doubt about the validity of my work at a time when "Breakthrough" is just coming out. Now it will no doubt be picked up by the rest of the media as "fact."

Please distribute this as widely as possible, and, if you wish, take the time to write a letter of protest to Parade, demanding that they retract the statement. This letter is going to everybody online who has written me. I hope that you get it into as many places as possible.

Whitley Strieber


RAY SANTILLI SPEAKS OUT ON "ROSWELL" FILM

[The following is a personal statement from "Roswell" film footage owner Ray Santilli, circulated recently on the Internet. For the time being, ISCNI takes no official position on the authenticity of the film.]

A great deal of nonsense has been written since news of our footage first came to light. In fact, I am amazed and disappointed that so-called UFO investigators, researchers and "scholars" can trade so openly in misinformation, gossip and rumour. Especially when correct information is so easily acquired.

THE QUESTION OF AUTHENTICITY:

When we were first made aware of the footage there was an obvious need to establish its authenticity. Of course we had the benefit of knowing and dealing directly with the cameraman; however we went to great lengths to satisfy ourselves that his story was genuine (we only had to satisfy ourselves, not the world).

We had sight of, not only the cameraman's many old photo albums which clearly proved his story (life story) but his enrollment and discharge documents, his diary and a wealth of other material all of which was easy to check. In addition the footage itself contained film stock code which we were able to confirm as 1947. (solid square next to a solid triangle on selected frames).

All in all we were, and still are, totally convinced that the cameraman is genuine, as is his story. We had all we required in terms of proof to warrant the financial investment in acquiring the footage. Although a risk, especially as it was a fundamental condition of the transaction that we gave an absolute guarantee the identity of the cameraman would remain confidential, we were happy to proceed.

WHY WON'T WE SPILL THE BEANS AND GIVE THE WORLD CHAPTER AND VERSE ON THE CAMERAMAN?

From the cameraman's point of view there were, and still are, a number of major considerations:

  1. The welfare of his family (especially grandchildren)
  2. His sworn oath to his country
  3. The ownership of the material
  4. The IRS.
I think we can all appreciate his concerns...

WE MUST BE IN IT FOR THE MONEY!!!

Once we had acquired the footage, our plan was very simple. We would shoot a documentary and eventually release the footage in a controlled manner. There was never any question of us wanting to sell the footage, and indeed we have still even now not approached any third party whatsoever in an attempt to sell the footage.

Make no mistake, we could have sold this film 50 times over from the incredible offers we have received. There isn't a week that passes without an offer coming in. (Even Stanton [Friedman] made an offer of $100,000 on behalf of an associate of his).

Of course we want to earn money out of it. We are a commercial company, but we will do it in our own way. It is not a case of take the money and run.

THE PRESS

Unfortunately a leak occurred, and without a single photograph or statement from me the press ran riot.

In order to alleviate the pressure we came up with what we felt would be a good idea. A screening -- NOT A PRESS CONFERENCE OR AUCTION -- just a screening.

We timed it May 5th to coincide with the V.E. DAY celebrations. This, along with the fact we still refused to release any materials to the press, meant that the story would die a natural death until we were ready. As far as press was concerned, the plan worked.

WHY WON'T WE WORK WITH THE WORLD OF UFOLOGY?

I learnt very quickly that the world of UFOLOGY is akin to a major international corporation with the same infighting and internal politics that go along with it. Rightly or wrongly, I will not throw the very valuable footage we have into that arena. I prefer to work with independent advisors and experts in their own field. People and organisations that are neutral have no declared interest in UFOs.

THE PHONE, THE CLOCK AND THE CREATURES?

There has been a great deal written about this. However, for the record:

THE PHONE................from around 1945

THE CLOCK................from around 1938 approx.

THE CREATURES.........all female

THE FUTURE?

I don't know. It changes with each day. I fully appreciate that footage such as this should only come about after years of research and investigation.

The fact that we stumble across it, have no real interest in UFOs....I accept is hard to swallow.

Fact is stranger than fiction....

Best regards,

Ray Santilli
3 June 1995


MAN REPORTS EXTRAORDINARY UFO IN SOUTH DAKOTA

[The following report was sent to ISCNI by Wanda Sudrala (WSudrala@aol.com), who interviewed the eyewitness in this unusual case. Wanda says there are many sightings occurring in South Dakota, and she will send additional reports in the future.]

On Saturday, April 15, 1995, around 8 PM, Oliver Puppel of Newell, South Dakota, was traveling south on Highway 79 to Sturgis, South Dakota. He was going to meet a friend in Sturgis, which is about 22 miles south of Newell. The sun had gone down but it wasn't totally dark.

About three miles south of Newell, Oliver glanced to the left or east and saw what he initially thought was a building. The first thing that came to his mind was a grain elevator. It was about one half mile in distance from him. He knew there had never been a grain elevator there before. It was sitting on or was very close to the ground when Oliver first sighted the object. He only saw a faint outline of the shape.

The lights were what caught his attention. He saw five banks of lights up and down this object, three rows of lights in each bank. He was so close he could see the spacing in between the lights in each separate row. The banks of lights were evenly spaced on the object, the upper and lower banks were green, the second bank down and fourth bank down were blue and the middle bank was red. From the way the lights were oscillating, it gave Oliver the sense that the craft was cylinder shaped. He also feels that the lights were attached to the outside of the object, they were not built in.

Oliver estimates the object's width easily at 60 feet and at least twice that, 120 feet, in height. He described it as being huge.

Shortly after Oliver spotted the object, he pulled off to the side of the road, stopped and picked up his car phone to call his grandmother. Just as he was stopping, the object rose approximately 100 feet into the air, traveled slightly to the south and stopped straight across from his car door. It stayed straight up and down as it was moving. At this time it was still a half mile or closer to him. He called his grandmother and stayed on the car phone with her during the sighting, approximately 15 minutes according to the timer on his phone.

Oliver said there was no sound or vibration from the object, no exhaust, no flames, no smell. Shortly before the craft left, it moved closer to Oliver and stopped again. He stated that he was getting frightened at this point but stayed on the phone with his grandmother. He said he was also excited at the same time.

The green and blue lights at this time were not oscillating, they were steady. As it was sitting there, all of a sudden the green and blue lights shut off. The red one in the middle stayed on a few more seconds. The row in the middle of the three row bank was oscillating in a clockwise direction. Oliver said it appeared that there was only one light in this middle row that was oscillating; it would disappear for a second when it was, he assumed, in the back of the craft. The red light started to "decay," turning orange, then yellow as it was going around. After about 30 seconds the light turned bright yellow and stopped. He could still see the other banks of lights even though they were not on at this time.

The craft started going back, straight away from him, the yellow light getting smaller and smaller, disappearing into a low cloud on the horizon as a pin prick of yellow light. This took 10 seconds or less. A split second after it disappeared, he saw a brilliant burst of yellowish light within the cloud.

Oliver said that during his sighting, several people drove by but did not stop. He doesn't know how they could have not seen this object.

After the object was gone, Oliver continued on his way to Sturgis. When he arrived and stepped out of his car, his legs were rubbery. He could hardly walk, as he was very shaken. He said his eyes were also watering. But he was also so excited by this sighting that he went out the same night and bought film and put his camera in his car.


STILL TIME TO TRY ISCNI FOR FREE! (WHY WAIT? DO IT NOW!)

There's still time to take advantage of ISCNI's "First Month Free" membership program. If you sign up for a Quarterly or Annual ISCNI membership before August 31, you'll get a full month free of charge, up front, to look into every aspect of our programs and services. If you like what you see, just continue to participate and we'll bill your credit card when your free month is up. If you find ISCNI isn't for you, just send us a cancellation notice before your free month expires, and we'll cancel your membership -- no charge, no questions asked. It's that simple. We're happy to make this offer, because we've seen that over 90% of the people who try ISCNI decide to continue their membership.

To join ISCNI, you must first be a member of America Online. If you don't have AOL software, just let us know (send your regular mail address to us via email at ISCNI@aol.com and we'll send it to you free. Remember, too, that you can try AOL free of charge for one month, including 10 free hours of connect time. This is the perfect way to access ISCNI on a trial basis with absolutely no cost or obligation!

Once you're on AOL, finding ISCNI is easy. Use keyword ISCNI or keyword UFO to reach ISCNI instantly. To join ISCNI, just open the Registration Form and follow the easy instructions. We look forward to seeing you "on campus."


MEN IN BLACK -- ONE OF UFOLOGY'S WEIRDER SIDEBARS

Though never a central concern of UFO research, reports of so-called "Men In Black" (MIB) have surfaced periodically from at least the mid-1950s to the present day. MIB activity seems to focus on intimidating UFO eyewitnesses to remain silent. There has never been a fully satisfactory explanation for who or what these MIB really are.

According to author Keith Thompson, in his book "Angels and Aliens: UFOs and the Mythic Imagination" (1991, Addison-Wesley, page 45):

"Beginning in the late 1950s, reports surfaced of strange men arriving, unannounced, sometimes alone, sometimes in twos or in threes, at the homes of particular UFO witnesses, usually before they had reported their sightings to anyone. Often seeming to know more than a stranger should know about the witnesses, MIB caution against reporting their sightings or close encounters. MIB typically walk with a strange limp, speak in mechanical monotones or annoying sing-songs, wear black suits and black shoes, often arrive driving black cars, and convey an overall eerie 'otherworldly' aura."

Probably the first MIB reports came out of the writings of Gray Barker in his classic book, "They Knew Too Much About Flying Saucers" (1956). In it, a UFO investigator receives a visit from three archetypal MIB when he gets "too close to the truth" and is forced to leave ufology.

According to a 1993 FIDONET posting by Bob Dunn, "the MIB phenomenon became more widely known in 1968 with the publication of the book 'Flying Saucers And The Three Men' by Albert K. Bender. Bender was the head of a UFO organization back in the early 60's until he suddenly closed up shop one day and told the membership that they should be careful if they intended to carry on with UFO research. Five years later he ended his silence and published the book, which told how he had been contacted by three men dressed in black, who told him that if he didn't stop investigating UFOs he'd be killed. They said they were from another planet and were here to carry out a mission, and that they would be gone within five years."


NEW CROP CIRCLE SIGHTED -- IN A LAKE!

On June 5, ISCNI member Dolores Finney Dee777 sent this preliminary report on an apparent crop circle-like formation recently discovered in aquatic vegetation in a Wisconsin lake:

The circle is indeed on a lake. Witnesses said that they were inside their cabin when they heard what sounded like a low, slow moving train going across the sky over the cabin. They were too frightened to go outside to see what it was. Then, they heard a strong wind out over the lake and the reeds rustling. They did not go outside until the next morning, when to their surprise they saw the circle of flattened reeds out on the lake. Taking a row boat out to the site, they saw that they could actually get out of the boat and walk on the flattened reeds, as it had become like a mat floating on the water. Other people also came out to see the site. When you get out of the boat, you sink down about three inches into the water (water is up to your ankles) but there is actually five feet of water below the mat of flattened reeds.

The formation is described as a center circle with extension arms going out to two sides, then a smaller circle at the end of each arm.

The Milwaukee MUFON leader has been out there examining the site, and photos have been taken which will be sent to prominent researchers for study.

Though relatively rare, formations in aquatic vegetation have been reported before. Some of the most impressive were found in rice paddies in Japan. Due to the obvious difficulty of flattening vegetation rooted underwater, it seems unlikely that these formations were created by human hoaxsters.


CLOSING REMINDERS:

* Be sure to visit the ISCNI Booth at the MUFON International Symposium July 7-9 at the Red Lion Hotel, Seattle Airport in Seattle. For symposium information, call 206-488-3805. If you wish, you can join members and friends of ISCNI for dinner on Saturday, July 8. To reserve your place at the table, contact DianeOmega@aol.com.

* Be sure to take advantage of ISCNI's "First Month Free" membership program, running until August 31. See detail in this issue of the ISCNI*Flash.

Thanks for reading the ISCNI*Flash!

Michael Lindemann
Editor



On October 1, 1996, ISCNI*Flash became CNI News.
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