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- THE "MJ-12" FILE: ANOTHER EXCLUSIVE "SMEAR" REPORT:
-
-
- It has, unfortunately, been over two months since our last issue of
- "Smear", and in that period of time MUCH has happened regarding the now-
- famous "Majestic-12" or "MJ-12" documents released by Bill Moore and friends
- earlier this year.
-
- Before we move on to a summary of new information, let us mention some-
- thing we neglected to state in our earlier ravings: Apparently long deceased
- Admiral Roscoe H. Hillenkoetter was the most important member of this group
- of twelve, because his name comes first on the list (he is referred to as "MJ-
- 1") and because he was allegedly the briefing officer who presented this
- startling information to president-elect Dwight Eisenhower on or about Nov.
- 18th, 1952. Hillenkoetter, after retirement from his position as first dir-
- ector of the CIA, became a member of the board of directors of NICAP, circa
- 1957. Can anyone seriously believe he would have dared to OPENLY join a pro-
- UFO organization if he had the KNOWLEDGE of UFO reality that the "MJ-12"
- briefing document leads us to assume???
-
- We have already published our exclusive information from Dr. Ernest
- Taves, a very close friend of Dr. Donald Menzel, who apparently was "MJ-10".
- Taves, like others who knew Menzel well, cannot believe that the long-de-
- ceased former director of Harvard Observatory could have had this above-men-
- tioned knowledge of UFO reality and still have written 3 anti-saucer books,
- and still have debunked UFOs emotionally at every opportunity. Yet Moore and
- Friedman see nothing amiss here, and have in fact written long, detailed re-
- buttals re the "Menzel Connection" and all other negative evidence that has
- been brought up in regard to "MJ-12". They do seem to believe what they are
- saying!
-
- CUFOS, in an editorial by Jerry Clark in the May-June issue of the "In-
- ternational UFO Reporter", and in a more recent press release, seems general-
- ly supportive of "MJ-12", and claims that the "verdict is still open."
-
- MUFON has expressed various opinions, swaying pro and con. They used our
- Taves material in a recent issue of their Journal, and in the August issue of
- their Newsletter, edited by MUFON's Massachusetts director James Melesciuc,
- they state: "The results of the MJ-12 circus created by Moore, Shandera and
- Friedman could be detrimental to the future of document research. The hunger
- for publicity or for financial gain by any type of self-styled expert can be
- as damaging to the subject as the crackpots and fanatics. Moore and Friedman,
- of all people, should realize that by promoting evidence loaded with loop-
- holes, will cause people to question the quality of their research and would
- be disastrous to their reputations...."
-
- Needless to say, CSICOP, as personified by Phil Klass, issued a totally
- negative press release, based on insufficient information, in our opinion.
- Much more interesting than the CSICOP release is the September issue of "Just
- Cause", published by Lawrence Fawcett and Barry Greenwood. In an article en-
- titled "The MJ-12 Fiasco," they give a vast amount of detailed negative data
- that no student of this matter should overlook. (Address: P. O. Box 218,
- Coventry, CT., 16238). To this Bill Moore's only comment (to us, by phone)
- is: "Sour Grapes."
-
- "Just Cause" introduces into the fray the name of a present or former
- intelligence officer named Richard Doty, assigned to Kirtland Air Force Base,
- New Mexico. The magazine alleges that Doty may very likely be Moore's source.
- Alas, when we said in our last "Smear" that "we believe we have the name of
- the probably perpetrator", it was Doty to whom we were referring. We have
- thus been "scooped", but never mind: Moore admits knowing Doty, but denies
- that Doty is his source. So the mystery deepens!
-
- Phil Klass, relying largely on information from British researcher Chris-
- topher Allan, has made a big deal out of the fact that the "MJ-12" briefing
- paper uses an unusual format in writing the dates, which happens to be ex-
- actly the same unusual format that Bill Moore uses in writing HIS dates. Our
- comment is: Whereas the notorious Straith Letter Hoax of 1957 DID reflect
- Gray Barkers' stylistic peculiarities, since it was written late one drunken
- night with no forethought, Moore would have to be remarkably stupid or insane
- to make such a naive mistake. If the dating similarity means anything, it
- more likely means that the REAL hoaxter was trying deliberately to frame
- Moore!
-
- So, to get to the point: It appears that most thoughtful Ufologists be-
- lieve "MJ-12" is possibly or probably a hoax, and some Ufologists, plus all
- of the debunkers, believe that Moore & Co. are behind it. Our position is
- that, although "MJ-12" is a hoax in all probability, Moore's group is NOT
- behind it. On to our exclusive information:
-
- Your humble "Smear" editor spent large parts of three days with Moore
- and Shandera recently (Sept. 23-25), in Burbank, California, discussing "MJ-
- 12" and related topics. We were left with the strong impression that they
- are, if anything VICTIMS of a complex sophisticated hoax that has engulfed
- them for several years - a DISINFORMATION campaign of some sort, for what
- purpose we do not know.
-
- Ufologists don't seem to realize that Moore has been involved since 1980
- in the receipt of supposed "inside" government information from first one in-
- formant, and eventually several, on a more or less continuing basis. Like
- "Deep Throat" in the Watergate Scandal, these informants do not always hand
- him answers, but they tell him where to look. As a result, Moore has given up
- his literary career, which looked very promising after the publication of
- "The Roswell Incident" (with Charles Berlitz) in 1980, and has devoted all of
- his spare time to research related to these ufological matters. He earns a
- bare living by selling UFO books and his own tracts by mail order.
-
- Shandera joined Moore in the quest in 1982. He too has largely given up
- his career, which was in film and broadcasting. His financial situation is
- better than Moore's however, as his wife has a very good job in the TV in-
- dustry.
-
- Friedman is, it seems, a more passive partner, in that he is merely kept
- informed of information received by the other two. He continues to work at a
- normal science-related job in his home town in Canada.
-
- Another thing that Ufologists don't seem to realize is that Moore's evi-
- dence consists of a great deal more than what he has released so far. (Appar-
- ently his sources tell him what he can release, and were he to disobey, he
- would blow the whole ongoing relationship.) There are other documents, includ-
- ing one he claims was given to him for exactly 20 minutes to do what he want-
- ed with, and then was taken back. He photographed it and read it into a tape
- recorder, in the presence of the agent who lent it to him.
-
- There are also several videotapes. We were allowed to see one 20-minute
- tape and most of another. These consist of a supposed agent talking in a tot-
- ally disguised voice, answering a list of questions from a supposed newsman.
- The agent is disguised, and the newsman has his back to the camera. The prov-
- en identities of these two are known to Moore and Shandera, they say. No one
- was present at the tapings except these two, plus Moore, Shandera, and the
- producer.
-
- The contents of the tapes are Way Out - literally and figuratively. We
- have been asked not to print anything about the contents, so we will merely
- comment that we find the material literally incredible without further evi-
- dence to back it up. Moore & Co. apparently have such evidence and expect to
- get more.
-
- The scenario is that by the end of this year, Moore's informants will
- either come forth with more information and public disclosures, or else Moore
- will give up on his informants and go public, himself, with all the inform-
- ation he has obtained so far. In either case, we are in for some interesting
- times!
-
- There is much more to all this, but Space prevents us from rambling fur-
- ther in this issue. Re our continuing "MJ-12" quest: Our sincere thanks to,
- among others, Tommy Roy Blann (who now says he has suddenly withdrawn from
- the UFO field!); to Jim Speiser of ParaNet; to Antonio Huneeus for material
- on the deeply mysterious "Humo Papers" which he has not yet sent (See Next
- Issue!); and to the alleged Space People for making all this madness pos-
- sible.
-
- Also a tip of the "Smear" sombrero to the various zines that have seen
- fit to reprint or condense some of our "MJ-12" material in earlier issues:
- "California UFO"; "Would You Believe?"; "The MUFON Journal"; and (ugh!)
- "Skeptical Inquirer".