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- ==================
- Inside Ufology
- December 1st, 1987
- ==================
-
- GERSTEN, CONTACT and FLYING WINGS
-
- ParaNet Alpha 11/27 -- Peter Gersten can't seem to make up his mind.
-
- In April of this year, Gersten, co-founder of Citizens Against UFO
- Secrecy, announced the formation of what at that time was being called
- "Project Aquarius," a scheme to raise funds for the serious study of the
- UFO abduction syndrome. After drawing a little heat for the name, the
- organizers -- Gersten, Ron Leykis, James McCampbell and several others --
- finally settled on "CONTACT." The ultimate goal of Contact, as McCampbell
- told ParaNet, was to "make contact" with whatever group was behind the
- abductions, if any.
-
- In September, Gersten and "Night Siege" author Phil Imbrogno staged
- a UFO symposium in Brewster, NY, which has been the center of phenomenal
- UFO activity over the past five years. While the theme of the Brewster
- confabulation was the Hudson Valley sightings, Gersten took the
- opportunity to formally introduce CONTACT to the public. Memberships were
- sold to the tune of $15 a head.
-
- Then, early this month, Gersten sent out a letter and a package of
- documents to several ufologists and groups. In the letter, Gersten
- attacked researcher William Moore for his MJ-12 involvement, saying that
- he "was and still is actively and intentionally engaged in a continuing
- program of disinformation involving fraudulent documents," referring to
- the so-called "Eisenhower Briefing" document which supporters say proves
- the existence of a long-standing UFO cover-up.
-
- One of the documents Gersten included in the two mailings was
- gleaned from the Air Technical Intelligence Division of the old Army Air
- Corps, and dealt with aircraft designs and plans seized from a German
- aircraft concern called Horten Bros. The designs were for airplanes of the
- "Flying Wing" variety, similar to the Northrop B-49. Gersten's stated
- contention was that "this document is a first step in explaining the
- nature and origin of the strange and unusual objects seen in the skies
- from 1946 through 1952." In other words, experimental German airplanes and
- not alien spaceships were responsible for the beginning of the "flying
- saucer" craze, according to Gersten.
-
- Several questions were raised by the press release. One of them,
- posed to Gersten by his CAUS colleague Barry Greenwood, was how such
- aircraft could possibly exhibit the maneuverability and velocity extremes
- reported by most UFO witnesses of the early era. According to Greenwood,
- Gersten had no answer.
-
- In the meantime, ParaNet checked with the former chief test pilot
- for Northrop Aviation, Max Cutler. When asked if Northrop knew of the
- Horten plans, Culter replied that they did, but that the B-49 was based
- purely on the design of Jack Northrop. The Horten plane, said Cutler, was
- worthless and probably never got off the ground.
-
- It was thought by many that Gersten was giving up on the idea of
- CONTACT, and on the idea of extraterrestrials in general; indeed,
- membership fees in the organization were refunded, and Imbrogno told
- ParaNet that no more memberships were being accepted. But CONTACT member
- Ted Markley of New Jersey has reportedly received new material from
- CONTACT, soliciting new memberships in the organization. And Gersten's
- latest release of Flying Wing documents was covered by a letter written on
- CONTACT stationery.
-
- Gersten said he will comment at a future date on his mysterious
- doings.
-
- ----------------
-
- NEW AGERS ARRESTED
-
- ParaNet has learned that Michael and Aurora El-Legion of Scottsdale,
- AZ, have been arrested in Hawaii on charges of credit card fraud. The El-
- Legions, long popular on the UFO lecture circuit, claim to be "walk-ins",
- or hosts for discarnate extraterrestrial entities. The Honolulu Sun
- reported in August that the pair, who travel to Hawaii frequently, were
- arrested for their alleged involvement in a scheme to sell stolen credit
- card numbers.
- The El-Legions could not be reached for comment.
-
- ---------------
-
- MUFON COMMITTEE DISBANDED
-
- In the latest newsletter of the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON), Public
- Relations Director Marge Christensen announced the disbanding of the
- Public Information/Public Education (PIPE) committee. The PIPE committee,
- the only active subcommittee of the worldwide UFO investigating group, was
- formed five years ago to set standards for publicizing the UFO phenomenon
- in the media and lecture presentations. Among PIPE's accomplishments were
- the organization of National UFO Information Week, usually celebrated in
- July or August. Christensen cited disillusionment, lack of cooperation and
- waning enthusiasm among the PIPE committee members as reasons for the
- dissolution. "None of us has given up on the UFO subject," she said. "Its
- human nature we have grave doubts about." Christensen will carry on as
- Public Relations Director for the near future.
- The newsletter is distributed to state and regional officers of the
- organization.
-
- ---------------
-
- AND FINALLY...
-
- It's-seventh-hand,-it's-hearsay,-it's-unconfirmed-but-who-am-I-to-
- stand-in-the-way-of-the-Great-Rumor-Machine-department: James Moseley
- reports that Ed Biebel of the Foundation for UFO Research told him that
- independent UFO researcher Jerry Schultz showed him a letter he had
- received from Col. Wendelle Stevens to the effect that Paul Bennewitz had
- told Stevens that Richard Doty was William Moore's source for the MJ-12
- documents. The implications of this are obvious: 1) Biebel's long distance
- bills are outrageous. 2) The Arizona prisons mail system works. (Stevens
- is doing 3-5 for child molesting) 3) Moore is protecting Doty. 4) Whitley
- Streiber did NOT portray the head of Nova Labs in the movie "Short
- Circuit."
-
- --Jim Speiser