Project UFO/Project UFO (Disk 5 of 6).adf/SMITH.TXT

Text File | 1980-01-09 | 30KB | 555 lines

DATE OF UPLOAD: July 12, 1989
ORIGIN OF UPLOAD: ParaNet Alpha/ParaNet Information Service
CONTRIBUTED BY: Dr. Willy Smith
========================================================
(C) Copyright 1989 ParaNet Information Service
All Rights Reserved.
THIS FILE WAS PREPARED BY PARANET ALPHA -- PARANET INFORMATION
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NOTE:  THESE FILES ARE NOT FOR REDISTRIBUTION OUTSIDE
OF THE PARANET INFORMATION SERVICE NETWORK
========================================================
By Michael Corbin/ParaNet Administrator
     DENVER,  CO  -- Gulf Breeze, Florida has been the  scene  of
mysterious and unexplained UFO activity during the last couple of
years.   As the sightings mounted in frequency, the  town  became
embroiled  in the most complex controversy since the Billy  Meier
case  several  years ago.   This situation has  become  extremely
polarized  as the battle between the skeptics and  the  believers
rages on.
     Everything  centers around some of the most dramatic  photos
taken of what is alleged to be a UFO, which for months, continued
to buzz Ed Walters and virtually, as reported, harassed him while
he shot the photos.
     In November, 1987, while working at his desk in his home, Ed
sighted  a  UFO.  He quickly grabbed his Polaroid camera  from  a
closet  and ran outside and snapped the first series of  the  the
mysterious object.  Ed, not sure what to do, submitted the photos
to the Gulf Breeze Sentinel, a weekly town newspaper.  From  that
point onward, Ed was visited numerous times by the UFO whereby he
shot  more photographs under the supervision of MUFON.  To  date,
not  only have Polaroids been taken of this object, but there  is
also  stereo  photographs  and  some  video  tape  in   existence
detailing these encounters.
     Dr. Robert Nathan, a photo specialist for the Jet Propulsion
Laboratory  in  Pasadena, California received  these  photographs
from  the National Enquirer for study.  According to Dr.  Nathan,
he performed a "very cursory" examination of the photographs  and
found many flaws and problems with them which he states "shot the
case to hell" and convinced him that the photographs were hoaxed.
Dr.   Bruce  Maccabee,   a  Navy  photographic  specialist,  also
performed  a  very  detailed  analysis  of  the  photographs  and
rendered  an opinion that he felt that the photographs could  not
have  been hoaxed by someone of Ed's abilities.   Due to the fact
that  Dr.  Maccabee  performed  such  a  detailed  study  of  the
photographs,  gives  his opinion a great deal of weight  for  the
acceptance   of  their  authenticity.    However,   according  to
different  investigative  groups on the hoax side  of  the  issue
refuse  to  accept any of Dr.  Maccabee's findings  stating  that
there  has  been  a serious breakdown in the methodology  of  UFO
investigations by Dr. Maccabee and MUFON.
     ParaNet  has  rated  the Gulf Breeze  case  a  hoax.   After
performing  a  detailed  investigation  of  this  case,   ParaNet
continues  to rate it as a total hoax, basing it's findings  upon
the  results of the investigation, and more so, upon  the  recent
findings  of a private laboratory which studied some of the  Gulf
Breeze  photographs  which clearly show a support  of  some  kind
holding  the  UFO up to be photographed.   Additionally,  it  was
found  that  the video taped film of the UFO, shown  on  national
television in the 'Unsolved Mysteries' segment, shows the  strong
possibility  of  a support holding the UFO up while  filming  was
done from about 20 feet from the video camera.  This is evidenced
by  the appearance of a street lamp in the school yard  which  is
located  behind Ed's house.  While the camera is taping the  UFO,
it moves in front of the street lamp.  At the precise moment that
the UFO is directly over the street lamp, the light from the lamp
blinks  out  and  as soon as the UFO passes from  it,  the  light
blinks  back on.  This, according to Dr. Nathan,  could  indicate
that the UFO is being supported on a pole while being held up for
photographing.
     As  everyone  knows,  Dr. Maccabee is considered  to  be  an
extremely credible scientist in the field.  In light of this most
recent  evidence, it leads one to wonder what could possibly  lie
behind  this if indeed it is a hoax?  Have all of the  scientific
objectives  been  met in this case?  Has MUFON  compromised  it's
very  charter to study this phenomenon in a scientific manner  by
throwing all care to the wind in light of some agenda not visible
at  this time?  No one really knows, but here are some things  to
ponder.
     MUFON  has  been  embroiled in the most  extensive  and  far
reaching  shake  up  since it's history.   Several  of  it's  key
members  have  resigned  and it has  been  brought  to  ParaNet's
attention  that anyone visibly opposed to the Gulf Breeze  case's
authenticity  has been either removed or censored.  It  has  also
been learned that MUFON has a large part in a book contract which
has been awarded to Ed Walters detailing the Gulf Breeze case  by
Morrow  and Company, the publishers of Whitley Streiber's  books,
'Communion'  and  'Transformation'.   The  contract  is  in   the
neighborhood  of several hundred thousands of dollars.  There  is
also  a possibility of a television 'mini-series'.  And the  list
goes on and on.
     Dr.  Willy Smith has been a MUFON investigator and  a  board
member  for  several years.  He is a degreed  physicist  and  has
operated  the famous 'Unicat' project, incepted by Dr.  J.  Allen
Hynek to catalogue UFO reports that Dr. Hynek investigated during
his life as a major UFOlogist.  Dr. Smith is not buying the  Gulf
Breeze  case.   Recently,  MUFON  removed  Dr.  Smith  from  it's
organization as Dr. Smith publicly denounced the authenticity  of
the case and the credibility of Ed Walters.
     The  story that follows is an article written by  Dr.  Willy
Smith  on the state of the UFOlogical community today.   It is  a
very  controversial  piece and will most certainly create a  fair
amount of discussion.   Dr. Smith wrote in December, 1988o and it
has never been released,  until now.   It represents Dr.  Smith's
own  observations and opinions,  and does not necessarily reflect
the opinion of ParaNet or it's staff,  however it is perhaps  'on
target'  in describing the problems that belie each of us in  our
quest  for  the truth.   It is time that we start  demanding  the
truth and get it.
     The  Gulf Breeze case is a good example.   Have all  of  the
scientific   avenues   been  totally  exhausted  before  such   a
conclusion was reached by MUFON?   Dr.  Smith tells ParaNet  that
Walt Andrus,  founder of MUFON, absolutely refuses to release the
original  photographs for an independent study.   ParaNet is also
in possession of a letter written by Ed's attorney to  Dr.  Smith
stating  that  he would be sued in court if he attempted to  have
the  copies of the photographs that he has analyzed  without  the
Ed's permission.   Yet,  when asked to provide them for analysis,
this avenue is completely closed.   If this case is so air tight,
what  have the proponents to hide from legitimate  investigators?
ParaNet  is  making  a  formal request to  have  the  photographs
analyzed by an independent laboratory.   We will keep you  posted
on the outcome of this request to MUFON.
     It  is  the hope of ParaNet to get a  discussion  going  and
perhaps a rebuttal on this piece from the persons that Dr.  Smith
names.
     What do you think?
     We want to know.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

            THE DECLINE AND FALL OF AMERICAN UFOLOGY

                         Dr. Willy Smith

PREAMBLE

The first version of this paper was prepared during December 1988
at the request of the prestigious British magazine Flying  Saucer
Review.   Understandably, American affairs have low  priority  in
Europe,  and thus the publication of this paper has been  delayed
while its import is rapidly decreasing.  This reason has  decided
me  to  revise the article and seek immediate publication  in  an
American magazine.

=================================================================

INTRODUCTION

Only a few years back,  ufology in the United States was booming.
Several  major national organizations grouped under their banners
a  large  number  of  members who  were  interested  in  the  UFO
phenomenon  and  provided  ample financial support  and  a  ready
market for specialized publications.   In addition,  many smaller
groups were active enough in more localized geographical areas.

Two  of the major organizations, NICAP and APRO,  existed  almost
from  the beginning of public interest in flying saucers.   NICAP
was mainly organized by Major Donald E. Keyhoe (*) and  attracted
many   distinguished   members  formerly  associated   with   the
government and the military.   As the years went by, the backbone
of NICAP dispersed,  and the organization slowly but irreversibly
ceased  to  exist.   Some  files were acquired  by  CUFOS,  where
presumably they still are.   However,  not even  Dr.  Hynek,  who
allegedly  had paid for the files from his own funds,  could gain
access to them during the last two years of his life, so one must
consider them all but lost for future research.

The  other  society, APRO, was created and organized by  Jim  and
Coral  Lorenzen,  and attracted some of  the  best  investigators
abroad, such as Dr. Olavo Fontes in Brazil and Horacio  Gutierrez
Ganteaume  in  Venezuela.  There is no question  that  the  prime
mover  behind APRO was Coral, and as her health declined, so  did
the organization.  The library was dispersed through a secondhand
book  dealer, and as for the files proper, nobody seems  to  know
what happened to them after  Coral's death in 1988.  Once  again,
valuable records have ceased to exist for all practical purposes.

The  other  two  major organizations were MUFON  and  CUFOS,  the
former a splinter group from APRO centered around Walter  Andrus,
then  a  manager at Motorola, and the latter founded  by  Dr.  J.
Allen  Hynek  in  1973.  While Dr. Hynek attempted  to  create  a
credible  scientific  organization, the MUFON  emphasis  was  and
still  is at the grass-roots level, as it admits to its rank  and
file anyone able to pay the subscription rates.

At  the beginning of the 80's, essentially only MUFON  and  CUFOS
survived.   Walter  Andrus had organized his society  in  a  very
effective way, using the subscribers to the MUFON UFO JOURNAL  as
potential  but  untrained investigators and  creating  a  network
covering  the  whole  country.   On the  other  hand,  Dr.  Hynek
insisted that the CUFOS investigators should be competent, and  a
much  thinner  network was deployed under the able  direction  of
Allan Hendry.

The  above  is  just background information,  but  essential  for
understanding  what  has happened to those organizations  in  the
last year or so.  Although both groups boast a Board of Directors
and  claim to have guidelines for what they are doing, the  truth
is  that  they are totally controlled by a  few  individuals  who
dictate policy and do as they please.  This fact is kept from the
membership at large, more interested in receiving the publication
on time than in its contents or internal politics.

As  is always the case for monolithic structures, the success  or
lack  thereof depends basically on the personal qualities of  the
leaders;  and  when  the founders grow old or  die,  a  slow  but
perceptible  decline  of the organizations is  initiated.   Often
enough  a deceptive steady state is maintained for years  because
nothing  occurs to shake the complacency of the leadership or  to
challenge  it.   But  then, one day, a  sudden  event  occurs,  a
controversial case is mishandled, and the ineffectual  leadership
faces  a  situation beyond its capabilities which  threatens  the
very existence of the organization.

A HARD LOOK AT CUFOS

The  destiny  of  CUFOS is controlled  effectively  by  only  two
individuals:   Jerry Clark, the editor of the  INTERNATIONAL  UFO
REPORTER, and Mark Rodeghier, president (whatever that means) and
scientific  director  of CUFOS.   Oh yes,  there is  a  Board  of
Directors,  but they are not important enough to have their names
listed  on the publication's masthead.   I discovered how  little
say  they  actually  have  when following  Dr.  Hynek's  death  I
attempted,  very  naively,  to bring to their attention the  fact
that  CUFOS  was precipitously departing from what had  been  the
basic philosophy of its founder.   This is not meant to say  that
all  the persons on the CUFOS Board of "Directors" are bad  guys,
because some of them,  such as John P.  Timmerman,  are gentlemen
who find themselves incapable of influencing events,  for reasons
too complex to deal with here.

Jerry   Clark  has  a  dubious  pedigree  because  of  his   long
association with FATE Magazine, where he achieved the position of
full editor before being terminated when the publication  changed
ownership.  Perhaps the orientation of FATE will now change,  but
in the past it has been devoted mostly to the occult, offering  a
mixed  bag  of articles dealing with esoteric  subjects  such  as
astrology, witchcraft, and life after death.  Indeed, ufology was
treated  here and there, sometimes by Mr. Clark himself, but  the
articles have been slanted toward sensationalism and not science.

The  serious  problem with Mr. Clark,  besides  the  imponderable
influence  that  his relationship with FATE undoubtedly  had,  is
that  he can be swayed too easily, and not always for  the  right
reasons.   For instance, he has been strongly influenced  by  his
friendship  with Jenny Randles, resulting in publication  by  the
IUR of unjustified attacks against FSR which are written in vague
terms and not in a constructive manner amenable to rebuttal (Ref.
1).

Even  Dr. Hynek was not happy with his own choice of  editor  for
the  IUR (Ref. 2), and he told me during the last months  of  his
life  that  Clark was selected "because there was  nobody  else!"
Not a very happy choice,  indeed,  as Mr.  Clark has been telling
all  who  care to hear how CUFOS had a turn for the better  after
the  departure of Dr.  Hynek,  having finally achieved  a  "truly
scientific  orientation".   Well,  I guess one cannot expect  any
better from weekend ufologists.

Two issues have recently dominated the ufological picture in  the
United States.  The first is the MJ-12 documents, the second  the
Gulf Breeze sightings.  The official position of CUFOS on the MJ-
12  affair is that the documents are genuine (and they  might  be
right)  but this position seems to be based not on the  available
evidence,  but mostly on the feelings of the editor toward  Barry
Greenwood et al, who have taken the opposite view.  I don't  have
enough  information about this topic to assume a posture, but  it
seems  to me that both proponents and detractors  should  realize
that the existence of MJ-12 and the genuineness of the  documents
are two separate issues.

On  the  other  hand,  I have expended a great deal of  time  and
effort  in  studying  the alleged  Gulf  Breeze  sightings.   The
validity of the case is based on a collection of Polaroid photos,
which at the moment of this writing are unconditionally  accepted
as genuine--I believe--by only a few persons:  Walt Andrus (MUFON
International  Director),  Lt.  Col.  Donald Ware et  al.  (local
investigators),   Budd  Hopkins  (abduction  expert),  Dr.  Bruce
Maccabee (physicist), and Dan Wright (a MUFON henchman who really
doesn't count).

It is my considered opinion that overwhelming evidence exists  to
label  this  case  a  hoax,  but CUFOS has  been  vacillating  on
publishing  any  of that evidence,  in spite of the fact  that  a
capable CUFOS investigator, Robert Boyd, has been involved in the
case  since  the very beginning.   Why?   Because  two  of  Jerry
Clark's  friends  have taken the other tack:   Budd  Hopkins,  of
controversial  abduction  fame,   by  his  own  admission  not  a
photographic expert,  but who after only a cursory examination of
the  photos proclaimed them genuine,  "the best  ever  obtained".
And  Dr.  Bruce Maccabee,  certainly a photographic  expert,  who
suddenly seems blind to the blatant negative evidence existing in
the photos and who has engaged in a massive disinformation effort
(Ref.  3  and  Ref.  9) pathetically attempting to validate  what
cannot  be  validated.   Friendship is admirable but  should  not
obfuscate  reason,  and when our friends err,  it is part of  the
obligation of friendship to bring them back to their senses, even
if painfully.  Apparently, Mr. Clark has a different opinion, but
historically  silence  has  never mollified  guilt;  and  as  the
Piltdown hoax has shown,  the passage of time makes things  worse
for those who conspired to hide the truth (Ref. 10).

As  for Mark Rodeghier,  he has yet to obtain his Ph.D.,  as  Dr.
Hynek  had  hoped  when he appointed him Scientific  Director  of
CUFOS.  Nonetheless, he could have become an effective leader had
he  developed  the  strong  personality  that  such  a   position
requires.   Clearly,  this is not the case, and in all matters he
yields to Jerry.

This  has  been deplorable in the specific instance of  the  Gulf
Breeze incidents, and Rodeghier's lack of resolve has resulted in
unmitigated  thrashing of CUFOS and his leadership from the pages
of the MUFON UFO Journal,  not only by Walter Andrus (Ref. 4) but
also  by Ed Walters,  the dubious and supposedly  anonymous  Gulf
Breeze photographer (Ref. 5).  To top it off, lately the pages of
the  IUR  to  disclose Dr.  Maccabee's adamant opposition  to  an
independent  computer  analysis of the  suspected  photos,  which
would have resolved the issue once and for all.

Undoubtedly the IUR readership feels that something is missing in
the  publication,  that  the  selection of the  articles  is  not
determined  by a firmly established policy but by the predominant
wind,   and  that  Dr.   Hynek's  ideals  of  serious  scientific
orientation have been betrayed.   Although the exact  circulation
of  the  IUR is not known,  a secret maintained at the  price  of
higher  postage rates,  the publication delays seem to indicate a
decreasing  readership and a not very promising future for CUFOS.
For  the  memory  of Dr.  Hynek,  whose  philosophy  I  share,  I
sincerely  hope to be proved wrong,  and that one of  these  days
Mark  Rodeghier  will  overcome his timidity and give  us  all  a
surprise.

AND A HARDER LOOK AT MUFON

If the picture I have sketched of CUFOS doesn't look bright,  the
reality of MUFON is still worse.

As stated above,  Walter Andrus used to be a good manager; and if
he had limited himself to administrative tasks,  MUFON could have
fulfilled  its  destiny.   Unfortunately,  this has not been  the
case.  The many capable individuals in MUFON, such as Ray Fowler,
Walter  Webb,  Richard Hall and Marge Christensen don't  seem  to
have  a  hand  in  determining  policy  and  have   progressively
withdrawn from the limelight.  Perhaps they feel that nothing can
be done,  and as one of the many dissatisfied persons has put it,
"Walt  owns MUFON".   Instead of seeking the advice of all  those
consultants that Andrus claims are available to the organization,
he  rarely  if  ever consults them;  and when  the  expertise  is
volunteered, he ignores it if it does not satisfy his desires.

In  fact,  many  respected ufologists have resigned  from  MUFON,
while   others--including  myself  and  Robert  Boyd--have   been
"expelled"  because  of  their refusal to endorse the  fake  Gulf
Breeze  photographs.   In  recent weeks the  split  has  possibly
become  irreversible  due  mainly  to the issues  raised  by  the
controversial  viewpoints of John Lear,  which may or may not  be
presented in July at the Reno MUFON Symposium.

Walter  Andrus  has surrounded himself with  persons  willing  to
dance  to his tune,  provided that they are given positions  that
they   (and   perhaps   nobody  else)  perceive   as   important.
Outstanding  among  these,  we find Dan  Wright,  a  bureaucratic
employee from Michigan, whose ambition has allowed him to rise in
the  ranks  in  spite of his  obvious  shortcomings.   As  Deputy
Director of Investigations, or a similar resounding title, he has
undermined   the   seriousness   of   MUFON   investigations   by
establishing   absurd  rules  which  consider  that  having   the
appropriate   forms   completed  is  more  important   than   the
investigative process itself.   The worst thing about Mr.  Wright
is  his  lack of ufological knowledge  and  experience,  and  his
unshakable  belief that he is favored with both.   Again,  I have
firsthand experience with this, because in my naivete I attempted
to  educate him about the complexities of the evaluation  of  UFO
reports.   I  soon  discovered that his only emphasis was on  the
number  of  reports sent to MUFON headquarters to  be  placed  in
dusty filing cabinets, out of circulation forever.

The  capital sin committed by MUFON is related to the Gulf Breeze
sightings.   The distressing part of the Gulf Breeze saga is  not
whether  the photos are real or a hoax but the extremes to  which
both the investigators and Walt Andrus have resorted to  maintain
the  illusion of a true and extraordinary case which was properly
investigated.  To narrate in detail the many incidents would take
too  much space (see Ref.  7) so I will limit myself to the  most
outrageous  breaches  of accepted  investigative  procedures  and
established scientific discourse.

1)  Censorship.

Walt Andrus, as well as the local investigators (Don Ware et al.)
have  systematically suppressed all negative evidence,  or simply
not  followed  leads  that could affect the  credibility  of  the
witness.   None of the many scientific papers that I submitted to
the MUFON Journal have been published or even acknowledged.  Only
due to the extreme pressure exerted by Richard Hall did a  single
negative  article  of less than 5 pages (Ref.  8) appear  in  the
pages of the MUFON Journal.  The rebuttal by the chief proponent,
Dr.  Bruce Maccabee (Ref.  9),  took 18 pages of text plus photos
and  tables,  skillfully  dodging  the  fundamental  issues,  and
containing  so  many  errors of fact that they  make  a  suitable
response  difficult,  if  not impossible,  within  the  editorial
constraints.

2)  Lack of confidentiality.

The local investigators (mainly Lt.  Col. Ware and Col. Reid) did
not   hesitate   to  release  confidential  analyses   of   other
investigators (like myself),  to the witnesses, thus allowing Mr.
Walters to correct his errors and change his story in an  attempt
to nullify the negative evidence.  An interesting example of this
is  that  the  "craft"  shown in the initial  photos  is  grossly
asymmetric,  but was replaced by a symmetric one at a later date.
Incredibly, this change has been attributed to the alleged extra-
terrestrials,  rather  than  an improvement of  Ed's  techniques!
Yet,  those  same investigators created an issue when I disclosed
the  name  of Mr.  Walters (a.k.a.  Mr.  Hanson)  at  a  lecture,
ignoring the fact that his TWO names are common knowledge in Gulf
Breeze.

3)  Failure to disclose.

Last, but the most important irregularity:  only Dr. Maccabee has
had  unrestricted  and  free  access  to  the  original  Polaroid
photographs.   It  has been well documented that all requests for
"independent  examination",  including the use of computer  image
enhancement,  have been simply ignored.  Since the basic tenet of
scientific  investigation is duplication by independent  parties,
if  we are to invoke science the ORIGINAL photographs  have to be
made available.   This has not been the case,  and probably  will
never  be.   Having detected many shortcomings using  photographs
many generations removed from the Polaroid originals, I seriously
wonder  what is in them that MUFON and the proponents do not want
others  to  see.   Perhaps  the  lack of  agreement  between  Mr.
Walters' story and the manufacturer numbers on the  reverse?   Or
the fact that apparently some of those numbers have been tampered
with?

WHAT IS IN THE FUTURE?

Very little,  if we don't do something about it.   It seems  that
ufology in the United States is changing, and not for the better.
The  ideals that inspired the early pioneers in the field seem to
have disappeared,  and the present day publications only  reflect
the  personal  ambitions of those who write them.   I  find  this
depressing,   and  also  intolerable,   because  in  science  the
overwhelming  driving  force  has  to be the  search  for  truth.
Unfortunately,  the  leadership of CUFOS seems to have  forgotten
what  the goal is,  while the MUFON leaders cannot remember  what
they never knew.

I   often   wonder   why  MUFON   continues   the   pretense   of
"investigating" cases,  just to file them away.   When the UNICAT
Project agreed to joint efforts with MUFON, it was with the clear
understanding   that  MUFON  would  make  the  "hidden"   reports
available  to  us  in  exchange for free  access  to  the  UNICAT
database.   Neither of those things ever happened:   I was unable
to obtain a single investigation report from Walt Andrus,  and no
inquiries  were ever made to the database.   The reasons are  now
clear  to me:   Walt Andrus (that is,  MUFON) has no interest  in
solving the problem posed by the UFO phenomenon.   In fact,  such
an   occurrence  would  mark  the  end  of  MUFON  as  a   viable
organization:   why would anyone buy the MUFON UFO Journal or the
IUR if the mystery has been solved?

As for CUFOS, the weekend ufologists are set in their ways not to
share information with others,  in spite of the fact that this is
contrary  to the philosophy established by Dr.  Hynek,  for  whom
divulging and exchanging knowledge was of fundamental importance.
Their  files,   or  whatever  still  remains  of  them,  are  not
accessible  to  anyone,  much  less to me  because  of  my  close
relationship with Dr. Hynek.

MUFON is at the breaking point, and perhaps this is the moment to
offer  some creative thoughts.   Ufology in the United States  is
stagnant  because  of  the  lack  of  leadership  in  the  extant
organizations.   They  live  in  the past,  controlled by  a  few
persons  who,  bound  by canons of loyalty to  old  friends,  are
unable to recognize when those friends--also set in their  ways--
are  violating  the rigid principles of  scientific  methodology.
Those  false  leaders have reached the point where  the  decisive
basis  for their editorial policies is not the search for  truth,
but  publishing  what sells regardless of its lack of  scientific
value.

What  is  needed  is a new  organization,  formed  by  a  younger
generation more committed to scientific research than to making a
profit at the expense of truth.  I sincerely hope that a few such
individuals  exist out there and that they will be able to form a
new and more honest organization.   Needless to say,  the  UNICAT
Project is prepared to provide support and assistance.

Dr. Willy Smith
UNICAT Project
May 1989

POST SCRIPTUM

As  I  am  not  naive anymore,  I am quite  aware  that  what  is
published  in the MUFON UFO Journal and the IUR pages is  heavily
dependent  on politics.   Thus,  I foresee that this article will
bring  a vitriolic attack from those named in  it.   Very  likely
their  frustration  will be vented in the only way they  seem  to
know  well:   attempting  a  destructive critique of  the  UNICAT
Project.  So be it.  My associates and I are open to constructive
criticism,  which  is  always welcome.   Not  welcome  are  those
critics  whose main objection to the UNICAT Project is their fear
that we may be approaching basic results, and whose arguments are
invariably  based on lack of accurate information about  what  we
do.

                           REFERENCES

1.  Fuller, Paul; in IUR Vol. 13, No. 3, May/June 1988, p.4.

2.   Hynek,  J.  Allen;  LETTER TO THE EDITOR FROM THE EDITOR-IN-
CHIEF, IUR Vol. 10, No. 4, July/August 1985.

3.  Maccabee, Bruce;  A HISTORY OF THE GULF BREEZE, FLA, SIGHTING
EVENTS,  in the 1988 MUFON Symposium  Proceedings,  Lincoln,  NE,
June  24-26,  1988.   (Note:   material  covered by the  author's
presentation at the symposium was essentially different.)

4.   Andrus,  Walter et al.;  "The Gulf Breeze, FL., Photographic
Case", Part IV, in MUFON Journal No. 243, July, 1988, p.9.

5.   Walters,  Ed; "Ed Responds", in MUFON Journal No. 244, Sept.
1988, p.3.

6.   Walters,  Ed;  letter to the Editor,  in IUR Vol.  13, No.5,
Sept./Oct. 1988, p.23.

7.   Smith,  Willy;  "The Gulf Breeze Saga",  paper presented  on
September  17,  1988 at the National UFO  Conference,  Cleveland,
Ohio (Available from R.D.  Boyd, P.O. Box 66404, Mobile, AL, USA,
$6.00 including postage).

8.   Hall,  R.  and Smith,  W.; "Balancing the Scale:  Unanswered
Questions  about Gulf Breeze",  in MUFON Journal  No.  248,  Dec.
1988, p.3.

9.   Maccabee,  Bruce;  "The Scale Remains Unbalanced",  in MUFON
Journal No. 252, Special Gulf Breeze Issue, April 1989, pp. 3-24.

10.   Gould,  Stephen  Jay;  HEN'S TEETH AND HORSE'S  TOES,  W.W.
Norton and Co., 1983, p.201.

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Prepared by Michael Corbin
ParaNet Administrator
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