Filer's Files

#3-1999
January 21, 1999

MUFON Skywatch Investigations
George A. Filer, Director, Mutual UFO Network Eastern

George Filer: Majorstar@verizon.net
Webmaster Chuck Warren
My website is at: www.nationalufocenter.com

TWO HEROES OF UFOLOGY PASS AWAY

Today has become a day to mourn, as we all lost two friends of the UFO community. Betty Cash and Doc Barry and were important personalities in this field and will be deeply missed. My heart felt sympathy go out to their families. They both deserve to belong to the UFO Hall of Fame. Perhaps when the history of the world is written and the true importance of UFOs is recognized, they will receive their just rewards. Doc gave much of his time in an attempt to uncover the secrets of the UFOs. Betty suffered from ionizing radiation poisoning after coming too close to a UFO on December 29.1980. She was always willing to help others suffering from UFO close encounters. John Schuessler did a thorough and excellent investigation of the case. May Doc and Betty rest in peace.

NEW YORK SIGHTINGS

POUGHQUAG--Larry Clark reports on December 25, 1998, a couple saw an object while driving home on Rt. 684. The UFO had a red light on one side and a green light on the other side. It seemed to be in the shape of a jet, but it was hovering what I estimated to be a few hundred feet up. We are familiar with the patterns of aircraft in this area and never saw anything similar to it before. There was no sound.

HUDSON FALLS--On January 7, 1999, A woman reports: My partner and I were in our car driving to Glens Falls in Upstate New York, when something in the sky caught our attention. I first thought they were airplane lights, but the strange thing was, there were two sets of them, traveling side by side. They seemed to hover for a bit, and then one of them began to change direction. I followed this one until it settled to another spot in the sky. Here, it stayed, appearing to be a very bright star. The brightness was very intense, yet it seemed almost "white." If I hadn't seen it moving and change direction, I would have thought it was just a star. It stayed there for 20 minutes, and disappeared. I then looked for the other set of lights. Now, I could now see a whole line of lights. It was moving, but not like an airplane would move, it seemed as though it was "gliding." Then, it just wasn't there anymore.

SARATOGA COUNTY--A reporter from the Troy Record contacted me for an interview. He mentioned having gathered reports from the Corinth area in Saratoga County the previous summer. I mentioned the numerous reports from the Saratoga Springs area as well as the new video. From that interview came a local TV news segment on UFO activity in the Saratoga area that showed some of the footage taken of objects over Saratoga Lake. Subsequent to the news coverage, I have been contacted by ten people who have reported personal sightings in the Saratoga area. Thanks to Larry Clark http://www.nymufon.org

NEW JERSEY

This sighting occurred on January 21, 1997, in northwestern corner of New Jersey. It was 8:15 AM and my eye caught a jet flying in my direction. I would by lying if I gave an estimate of its altitude. It was flying high enough to leave a jet trail and low enough to be easily viewed. Just then a second jet flying at a slightly higher altitude but parallel and only slightly behind the first plane came into view. I know little about flight, but it didn't seem normal. At this point I glanced back at the first jet that was now closer to me. Directly in front of it and so close that at first they seemed to be tethered like an airplane and glider was a V-shaped object. It dwarfed the jet. I have never seen anything that big flying at such an altitude. It was at least ten times the size of the jet. I have read about the flying triangles and V- shaped objects and it was a V. It reflected the sunlight just like the jets did. There didn't seem to be any turbulence to upset the flight of the first jet. The second jet seemed to almost be pacing or guarding this odd couple. As they approached, I ran for my camera and binoculars. By the time I found them, the craft passed over my house. I stuck my head out of the small window. I saw the "V" over the back of my house, but no jet. It took me a few seconds to realize that it had sped up and was waiting for the jet. As the first jet came into view, it took up its close relationship again. At this point, the jet began to bank to the right and the second jet, still on its parallel path joined it. The "V" apparently kept going. The jets then made a U-turn and departed. Thanks CAUS and Charles Stuart for this report

ALABAMA METEOR

TARRANT CITY--My husband called me on January 17, 1999, shortly after he drove into Birmingham traveling south on Highway 79. He sighted what he believes to be a meteor. He said, "It was the largest he had ever seen and it was in broad daylight between 4:30 PM and 5:00 PM CST. It was as large as his fist on his extended arm. The body of this fireball itself was a brilliant white color and it had a red and green tail. It was traveling from north to south and was about 45 degrees above the horizon falling slightly." Thanks to Charlie Plyler Elfrad Group. Footnote: The photos of meteors taken in both Georgia and Alaska appear very similar while earthquakes were reported in Tecumseh & New Madrid, AL at 18:38 the same day. Kent Steadman http://members.aol.com/phikent/orbit/orbit.html

TEXAS

FORT WORTH--Steve Hudgeons reports that a photographer from the Fort Worth Star Telegram photographed an UFO on November 30, 1998, around 4:45 PM. The object grew from a small spot, slowly, into an extremely bright light one- forth the size of the sun. The object fell at a fast rate of speed, hovered, then slowly moved off to the West. Seven photographs were taken at various distances. These photo's may be featured in the next MUFON Journal. Get your sneak peek in the "SIGHTING" section at: DFW Chapter website: MUFON_DFW http://home.swbell.net/comcody/mufon.html comcody@swbell.net. Thanks to Steve Hudgeons, Jr. MUFON Field Investigator and Webmaster.

CALIFORNIA

PALMDALE--January 17, 1999, Tonight we had a bit of activity in the Antelope Valley. A woman called a friend of ours from Lancaster just north of Palmdale. Starting at 7:00 PM she saw a very bright white light from her home near Avenue M and Sierra Highway. This light was coming from an object that started hovering near a cleaning business. It was saucer-shaped with a dome on top. It also had red and blue lights associated with it. A blue and gold vapor hung around the object as it hovered silently. I stationed myself near the end of the runway near Air Force Plant 42 and Lockheed. I scanned lights to the north but could not detect anything unusual. When I got back home I was put in touch with the woman who reported it. She said her neighbor saw the object initially. It hovered very low near the building about 800 feet from her. It apparently came back after disappearing from view for a while but disappeared again. We told her to call us if she sees it again. Thanks to: Bill Hamilton Executive Director Skywatch International, Inc. "

NORTHERN IRELAND

BALLYWALTER COUNTY DOWN--On Sunday, January 17, 1999, a disc shaped object was video-taped for about 30 seconds over the Irish Sea at about 8:15 AM GMT. The UFO was heading in a Northeast direction at 1500 to 2000 feet. The weather was good with very little high clouds. The UFO was observed by three people and was reported to the newspaper who ran the front page story on the 18th and followed up on the next day with a report on page 9. The Irish Centre for UFO Studies have started a full investigation into the sighting and will try to find out what they saw. Anyone wanting to get further information can contact me here at ic.ufos@virgin.net. Thanks to Alan and skypost@unix.ltlb.com.

ITALY UFO MOTHERSHIP

TRENTINO ALPS--On December 26, 1998, at 12:15 a.m., a very large UFO, described as "a mothership" and "a flying cigar," was seen passing over Merlengo. This is a small town near Bolzano 330 miles north of Rome. "The object appeared stationary and at an altitude of 2,500 meters," reported Fabrizio Monaco of Comitato Internazionale per lo Studio delle Intelligenze Extraterrestri (CISETI). "It was traveling at about 600 kilometers per hour but appeared to vanish. The phenomenon lasted about one and a half minutes. When the large cigar-shaped UFO departed, "the object was illuminated by a luminous flash," Thanks to Fabrizio Monaco.

PADOVA--On December 21, 1998, at 11:30 p.m., a glowing disc was seen at Stra near Padova, located about 375 kilometers north of Rome. Giuseppe Isanelli was in his home when he saw a bright flash outdoors. "I saw above a field an object of circular form about six meters (20 feet) in diameter." "The field was illuminated as bright as daylight by an object hovering in the sky 300 meters away. It was of a circular form and had its own lights," Isanelli said. "The object moved slowly at first and quickly gained velocity, heading for Padova." Centro Ufologico Nazionale (CUN) is investigating. (See the Italian newspaper Il Gazzetino di Padova 12/21/98) Thanks to Joe Trainor editor of UFO Roundup Vol. 4 #3, 1/15/99 and Francesco Rosati e Alfredo Lissoni.

FINLAND

Joseph Trainor reports: Ufologists in Finland are looking into a reported air battle between a Finnish jet fighter and a squadron of five UFOs. According to Lars Osterman, the dogfight took place on March 31, 1997, in northern Finland. Local researchers learned of it when the pilot, whose name has been kept under wraps, phoned a radio talk show and reportedly said he was "having trouble dealing with" the experience. The fighter was an F-18A Hornet of the Suomen Ilmaviomat (Finnish Air Force), which was posted to the Lapin Lennosto (Far North Air Department) air base at Rovaniemi, 400 kilometers (240 miles) north of Helsinki. The F-18 took off on "a routine 960-kilometer patrol of the border" with Russia. As the jet flew over the frozen tundra southeast of Lake Inarijarvi, the pilot spotted three discoid UFOs flying in a northeasterly direction. Going in for a closer look, the pilot saw that "there seemed to be five saucers, instead of just three." He then radioed Rovaniemi and advised them of the situation. Lapin Lennosto Flight Control ordered him to intercept the objects. The five UFOs, described by the pilot as "glowing orange objects," veered sharply to the Northwest. The F-18 pursued them to Ivalo, a city 200 kilometers (120 miles) north of Rovaniemi. From there, the F-18 chased the saucers west to Inari, 40 kilometers (24 miles) to the Northwest. Then the saucers darted eastward, high above Lake Inarijarvi. The pilot told Flight Control that the UFOs were breaking formation and requested permission to fire at them. Flight Control responded, "Permission granted. Fire at will." The pilot got behind one glowing saucer and lined it up with the reticule on his windshield "heads up" display. But instead of picking up the "target acquisition tone" in his earphones, he heard the raucous honk of an alarm. All at once, the targeting computer went off- line. The "heads up" display disappeared. The F-18's firing system for the 20 mm cannon was also down. Instantly the pilot hit the "arming" switch for his air-to-air missiles. The red Malfunction light began blinking on the dashboard. The saucers regrouped and flew away to the East "at Mach 4 or 5. They had an orange glow around them." None of the F-18's flight control systems were affected, and the pilot returned safely to Rovaniemi. "They tested the computers for days but could find nothing wrong with them," The saucers were last seen heading for Talvikula, Russia. Thanks to UFO RoundupVol.4, #1, 1/5/99.

NEW MEXICO IMAGES

TIM EDWARDS wrote: Santiago has informed me that the engineer that took the stills on Aug. 27, 1995, has calculated the craft by the mountains to be 10 to 12 kilometers away from the camera. The craft was a kilometer across which makes our eyewitness estimate in Salida] of a mile across pretty darn close. Overwhelming stills and video of these massive crafts continue to escalate. Almost nobody will attempt to archive, bring together, or even report the correlation and the evidence of the cigar crafts to present as a package of evidence. Most big name researchers are too busy on conspiracy theories and ancient history and ignore the reality and evidence that are in the skies right now. The footages, stills, and eyewitness testimonies beg for scientific analysis and scrutiny. I have tried for 3 years to bring this together. Is there any help out there? Thanks to Tim Edwards

MACHINE MADE OUT OF DNA

Denver Rocky Mountain News, January 14, 1999, by Rick Callahan.
Scientists have made a moving part out of a few strands of DNA -- a step toward building incredible tiny "machines" that could someday perform intricate jobs such as building computer circuits and clearing clogged blood vessels in the brain. The hinge-like part, which bends on cue, is just four-ten-thousandths of the width of a human hair. The new work isn't the first time scientists have turned chemical compounds into moving parts. But previous examples have been hampered by their floppy nature. The DNA device, however, is particularly rigid and executes motions 10 times bigger, lead researcher Nadrian C. Seeman at New York University. The findings were reported in today's issue of the journal NATURE. The team hopes to eventually build other moving parts using DNA, including "arms" and "fingers" that someday could be mounted on a micro-robot. The work is the latest twist in the fledgling field of nanotechnology, or technology at an atomic scale. "This is a very beautiful demonstration of construction at that scale of a device that's actually functioning," said Daniel T. Colbert of Rice University's Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology. "We're kind of in the children's playtime toddler era of doing this. We've been thrown some blocks and Legos and Tinker Toys," he said. "We're just kind of picking them up and trying to assemble things out of them that can perform something useful." Thanks to: John F. Schuessler

MJ --12 DOCUMENTS CONTROVERSY

Kevin Randle writes that Dr. Richard Haines wrote about the new MJ-12 documents: Of course the burden of proof lies with the debunkers, since the documents are claimed to be authentic and not vice versa. No. No. No. That is not the way it works. Since there is no provenance for the documents, other than the mysterious Cantwheel and since I can't FOIA various government agencies to get copies of these documents, and since there is no direct link from the government to MJ-12, these are, in fact, questioned documents. The burden on proof is not on us to prove them fake, but upon those who believe them to be authentic to prove them authentic. How can a respected scientist like Dr. Haines twist this around? There is good evidence that the documents contain anachronisms and each of those suggest the documents are fraudulent. For example, in a document dated in 1951 or 1952, General Hoyt S. Vandenberg is referred to as the Vice Chief of Staff, though by the time the document was allegedly created, he was the Chief of Staff. This sort of mistake would not be made at this level. This is not the only such mistake. This twisting of scientific principles is one of the major problems with all of Ufology. We get it backwards and then wonder why science rejects what we say. Without a provenance, there is nothing but a group of papers that are somewhat interesting. Thanks to Kevin Randle. Editors Note: I feel that we can disagree and learn from each other.

PROTECT EARTH FROM SPACE ALIENS

WASHINGTON USA Today January 18, 1999, reports the government is making plans for the first time in three decades to protect Earth from potentially dangerous extraterrestrial life forms. Contaminants, virulent microbes, infectious organisms -- all are possible as NASA retrieves samples from places like Mars during unprecedented space exploration in the new millennium. "If there is a living organism in a sample you bring back, you don't just want to let it out," said Margaret Race, a biologist at the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence Institute in Mountain View, Calif. Quietly and without announcing it, scientists will begin meeting next month to recommend ways to contain any space bugs. The Agriculture and Interior departments and the Environmental Protection Agency will look at protecting crops, livestock, air and water. The National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are involved because of possible human risks from disease. The National Science Foundation has experience with organisms that live in extreme environments like Antarctica. Not since the first of the manned Apollo moon missions in July 1969 has the government had such a worry. But over the next decade, unmanned craft will be launched to carry back soil, dust and particles from Mars, comets, asteroids and the sun. Scientists agree that risks are slim, but they're taking no chances. "That's the most cautious way to proceed," NASA's John Rummel said. Thanks to Stig Agermose.

CEO OF USWEB RESIGNS TO STUDY UFO's

Joe Firmage a multi-millionaire was interviewed by CNN's Don Knapp on January 13, 1999, at 12:38 a.m. ET. Silicon Valley CEO Joe Firmage Pursues UFO Science after Encounter. DONNA KELLEY, CNN ANCHOR: Well, those of you who believe in UFO's have a wealthy new ally. LOU WATERS, CNN ANCHOR: Yes you do. His name is Joe Firmae. He was the CEO of a Silicon Valley company until he had what he calls a very unusual experience. Here's CNN's Don Knapp. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) DON KNAPP, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Don't call him the UFO- CEO. Joe Firmage has had just about enough of that since going public last week with his views on UFO's, aliens and space travel. JOE FIRMAGE, USWEB FOUNDER: It is definitely painful to go through what I have in the past few days. KNAPP: The multi-millionaire founder of USWEB resigned as CEO, he says, to spare his company any bad press while he pursues his interest in what he calls new scientific theories, like how UFO's fly. FIRMAGE: The only objection that science has put forward to the UFO phenomenon is that we can't control gravity. Well, these new papers are suggesting that very soon we may be well be able to control gravity. KNAPP: These papers are detailed on his 600-page Web book at thewordistruth.org. Tuesday he tripled the Web site's capacity, but it still couldn't keep up with all the interest in such things as his encounter. FIRMAGE: I never referred to the words visitation or alien in that experience that I did in fact have about 15 months ago. It was a very unusual experience, but I would compare it more to a near-death experience. KNAPP: Firmage suggests that Silicon Valley and the high-tech industry benefited from a UFO crash at Roswell, New Mexico, in 1947, suggesting that perhaps what was recovered from the crash was analyzed in government laboratories. It's this last part that tends to annoy some in Silicon Valley. MICHAEL MALIAN, SILICON VALLEY HISTORIAN: These were very hard-working people of the last 50 years, and they, you know, plunged on and they managed to create these great products. And now somebody comes along and says, no, it was just aliens whispering in your ear, giving you the ideas. KNAPP: To prove it may require rewriting the books of science. Firmage says he has the money and the time to try to do just that. Thanks to The ZDNet News, stig.agermose [Don Knapp http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/9901/13/tod.06.html

SUMMARY of UFO REPORTS IN 1998

During 1998, the number of UFO sighting reports in the Filer Files by state follows: Georgia=43, New Jersey =37, Florida =24, New York=21, Colorado =17, California =14, Pennsylvania=14, Michigan=13, Arizona =11, Ohio=11, Texas =10, New Mexico =7, North Carolina=7, Virginia=6, Oklahoma=5, Arkansas=5, Illinois=5, Indiana=5, Alabama 4=, Connecticut =4, New Hampshire =4, Oregon=4, Vermont =3, Missouri=2, South Carolina =2, Puerto Rico =2, West Virginia =2, Tennessee =2, Utah =2, Delaware =1, Mississippi=1, Washington, =1 and Wyoming=1. The total is 290 reports.

During 1998, the number of UFO sightings reported by country to me follows: United Kingdom =26, Australia=15, Canada =12, Chile =6, China =4, Brazil =4, Norway=3, Belgium =2, Austria =2, Germany =2, Spain, =2, Scotland =2, Bermuda =1, Finland =1, New Zealand =1, Somoa =1, Sri Lanka =1. Total 83. Not all reports are covered due to lack of time and space. These also represent the better reports.

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Filer's Files Copyright 1998 by George A. Filer, all rights reserved. Readers may post items from the Files on their Websites provided that they credit the newsletter and its editor by name and list the date of issue that the item appeared.

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