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Post by swamprat on Jun 28, 2017 17:32:53 GMT -6
A Different Perspective A Commentary on UFOs, Paranormal events, and related topics.
By Kevin Randle Saturday, June 24, 2017
MUFON, Racism and Dodging the Questions Although the MUFON Inner Circle is announced on MUFON’s website, and there seems to be no attempt to keep the elite organization hidden, very few of the MUFON members I queried had any idea that it existed. It currently is made up of thirteen members, which seems to be more coincidence than design, but that number does seem to have mysterious connotations for some. I don’t believe it significant, only a little bizarre.
The thirteen members, in no particular order are: Jan Harzan, Ed L’Heureux, Jennifer Stein, David MacDonald, John Schuessler, Debbie Ziegelmeyer, Clifford Clift, John Ventre, JZ Knight, Holly Baker, John Grace, Cindy DuPont and Michael Limotta.
Membership is limited to those who have an extra five grand that they can use each year to buy their place in the Inner Circle. That seems to be the only real qualification for membership. According to MUFON, “The Inner Circle status is obtained through a yearly donation of $5,000. Whether you have had a UFO sighting or are just interested in UFOs, you are welcome to join.”
The site then reports, “Inner Circle members provide advisory guidance to MUFON and are included in annual conference calls, attend private functions and cocktail parties during Symposium time, are afforded reserved seating at MUFON events, and much more!”
It is also noted, “You’ll be joining a very select group of UFO enthusiasts who stop at nothing in pursuit of knowledge about the UFO phenomenon and extraterrestrials. You’ll meet other Inner Circle members at MUFON who are kindred spirits and you’ll participate in Inner Circle-ONLY events.”
The benefits, again, according to MUFON, include access to the MUFON Director’s annual conference call and latest UFO reports, access to the MUFON Director’s live annual post symposium review, including speaker’s comments and personal insights shared with MUFON Director one on one, followed by 30-minute live Q&A session with the MUFON Director. An Inner Circle member also receives free admission to the MUFON Symposium each year of donation, special reserved seating for two in MUFON Director’s section during MUFON Symposium, along with photos with the MUFON Director and Keynote Speaker at the MUFON Symposium. There are three LIVE (emphasis on the website) “Closed Door” conference calls with the MUFON Director, soliciting “your input regarding UFO Research and Public Awareness. Director will also share unpublished current UFO cases with information generally unknown by public or Media.” And finally, it includes a lifetime membership to MUFON which includes the MUFON e-Journal.
At first glance, these perks to membership in the Inner Circle don’t seem to be worth the yearly contribution to MUFON coffers. It might be seen as more of a status thing than as a way to make a contribution to UFO research and some of the members have a rather checkered background. The emphasis on “special reserved seating, photos with the Director and Keynote Speakers and the “Closed Door’ conference calls,” seem to smack of elitism, but then is that such a big deal?
And, at iccolinks.website>back_up>index_058, it says, “Members of this elite group provide insight and direction to the course MUFON takes in it’s [sic] daily activities.” That is a point where this Inner Circle becomes important especially as we look at the list of those who are members of the Inner Circle really are.
I’ve already detailed in another post some of the trouble that John Ventre, who had bought his place in the Inner Circle, brought to MUFON as a whole. His racist rant on Facebook in May 2017, his doubling down by suggesting some sort of demonic component to the UFO phenomenon a few days later, and his overall attitude gives rise to questions about the Inner Circle and the only real qualification to join.
I have also learned that while Ventre was removed as the state director for Pennsylvania and Delaware, he has been assigned duties as the state treasurer and the conference coordinator according to Lon Strickler. I had asked Harzan during my radio interview with him if Ventre had been reduced to “journal subscriber,” but meant it more as a joke, not realizing that Harzan didn’t actually answer the question. Instead he said that anyone was allowed to join MUFON and, of course, he hadn’t been removed from the Inner Circle which seemed to me to be more problematic. That suggested that the monetary contribution to MUFON was the important aspect. But then, Ventre is not the only member who has these bizarre and racist beliefs.
J Z Knight is another of those whose membership might be questioned. She is a “New Age Leader,” who channels a 35,000-year-old Lemurian warrior who apparently participated in the downfall of Atlantis and who endorsed Donald Trump in the last election. (I note here that I would have mentioned if he had endorsed Hillary Clinton.) In March 2011, Knight was on stage addressing hundreds of those interested in what she had to say, which seemed to be nothing more than a drunken rant, according to Susy Buchanan of the Southern Poverty Law Center. Although Knight claimed, or it is suggested the words aren’t hers but rather Ramtha, the Lemurian she channels, he (meaning Ramtha) said, “*bleep* God’s chosen people [meaning the Jews]! I think they’ve earned enough cash to have paid their way out of the goddamned gas chambers by now.”
She, or rather Ramtha, added that Mexicans “breed like rabbits,” all gay men were once Catholic priests and in a strange comment, organic farmers have questionable hygiene. I don’t know what that last means.
Buchanan noted that these remarks would have remained private except that in 2012, they were posted to the web, again according to Buchanan, by Knight’s ex-student Virginia Coverdale and a fellow named David McCarthy. This embarrassed Democratic candidates who had received some $70,000 from Knight, which also suggests that she had enough money to hand over five grand to MUFON on a yearly basis so that she can enter the Inner Circle. To their credit, the candidates returned the donations.
In the article cited above, there was a note I found interesting which was that Knight had been borne Judith Darlene Hampton in 1946 in Roswell, New Mexico. (It seems no matter how hard I try, I can’t get away from Roswell which is the only reason I mention this.)
It is also suggested that Knight owes no apologies to any to those she might have offended during her drunken rant because she employs lapsed Catholics, former Jews, a lesbian and a Mexican-born man in her Inner Circle (but doesn’t seem to employ an organic farmer). Somehow her association with them absolves her of any charges of bigotry or racism. She also claims that the videos used as the basis for Buchanan’s article are heavily edited and that “Coverdale couldn’t keep the man she was after for more than three weeks and hated me for it.”
Much of what Buchanan had to say also has appeared on Wikipedia with a long list of sources that can be accessed for additional confirmation. There are also articles from television stations and newspapers that seem to validate the claims of the racist rants that Buchanan raised.
See next post for page 2
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Post by swamprat on Jun 28, 2017 17:34:43 GMT -6
Page 2
There are others whose backgrounds and comments aren’t quite so dramatic. David MacDonald, who is also a member of the MUFON Board of Directors as well as a member of the Inner Circle, started the Flamingo Air which was sort of a charter service but it had an added component. For a fee, a couple could hire one of the aircraft so that they might join the “Mile High Club,” and yes, it is exactly what you think it is. Is this egregious? Not really, but then, it isn’t exactly something that an organization that works in the UFO field wants its board members (and former Director) to be doing. In fact, a couple of MUFON members said that they had left the organization when they learned about this. It seems to reflect poorly on the organization, but, of course, not as poorly as some of the other activities.
But note here, while the excursions for the Mile-High Club can be seen as little more than a business profit center, MacDonald is also on the Board of Directors. This would seem to negate the claim made by a few that the Inner Circle has no influence with the daily operations of MUFON. While a single board member who is also in the Inner Circle might not hold much power, remember the Jan Harzan, who is the Executive Director and a board member is also in the Inner Circle.
Harzan, however, when questioned about this, said that the Inner Circle exerted no influence on MUFON. This was merely a profit center, what he termed as a donation level perk and that anyone, regardless of their beliefs, their opinions, or their knowledge of UFOs was free to join. All it took was the five grand and for that they received nothing of consequence and they, just as everyone else, could call the Executive Director to chat with him about UFOs. You can listen to Harzan’s interview here:
www.spreaker.com/episode/12180631
But the website said, ““Inner Circle members provide advisory guidance to MUFON and are included in annual conference calls, attend private functions…” which sounds like something more significant than just getting together to chat about UFOs. It sounds as if it is more than just someone handing over that kind of money with no expectation of privilege. You might compare it to major contributors to a political campaign or political party. Those people do expect some sort of quid pro quo for the money.
Add to that, “You’ll meet other Inner Circle members at MUFON who are kindred spirits (they might want to remove this given how some of those kindred spirits speak about others) and you’ll participate in Inner Circle-ONLY events…” We don’t know what those other Inner Circle only events might be, but I suspect it is something more than just a party at someone’s house. And, if you are meeting with Inner Circle members who are either on the Board of Directors or are the Executive Director, you have an opportunity to affect MUFON’s direction simply by having the opportunity to meet, one on one, with the Executive Director who certainly does exert influence on the direction MUFON takes.
Also suggesting something more than a donation level as Harzan repeatedly claimed, and that anyone can call the Executive Director, there are “… three LIVE (emphasis on the website) ‘Closed Door’ conference calls with the MUFON Director, soliciting ‘your input regarding UFO Research and Public Awareness.’’
So, while anyone can call the Executive Director, can everyone expect a return telephone call? And, will the Executive Director be interested in their “advisory guidance?” Claiming that the Inner Circle members exert no influence, but attempting to entice people to join by suggesting there will be influence as the Executive Director is “soliciting” their input is somewhat contradictory. If all this Inner Circle does is contribute money, then why is the Executive Director soliciting their input.
While it seems that many of those who have joined the Inner Circle have the best intentions, supporting an organization they believe to be of some benefit, shouldn’t they be troubled by the attitudes of a couple of their fellow Inner Circle members? The racist rants wouldn’t be tolerated in almost any other arena, but here, they are ignored because those holding those extreme views allegedly have no influence on the organization and have Inner Circle status solely based on the size of their wallets, at least according to Harzan.
But when we look in other directions, political campaigns often return money given by those with extreme views. They don’t want to be associated with people who think in the extreme and have the power to purchase a platform.
And to suggest that this is merely free speech, as Harzan did, is to overlook the real trouble here. Yes, you can say whatever you wish, but there are consequences to some of that free speech, especially when directed in an antagonistic way to a specific group. You simply can’t advocate, indirectly, violence against a group because of skin color, religious belief, ethnicity (which is different from skin color) or other less than objective criterion. I will defend your right to say whatever you wish but I will also note that you must take responsibility for that speech. You can’t dismiss a bigoted, racist point of view simply by calling it free speech.
I will add this. While I am exercising my right to free speech here, I know that I am offending some. Those who toil at the lower levels of MUFON, who believe in what is being done, will be annoyed with what I say here. I don’t mean to offend them. They are sort of caught in the crossfire. I do believe that the facts I have laid out here need to be seen and reviewed. I expect nasty comments to the blog (and for those keeping score at home, attack me personally and the comment will not see the light of day… make an argument against my conclusions here and the like, I’ll be happy to post it… free speech), but I am opening a dialogue about all this and accept the animosity as part of the deal. But you’ll notice that I’m not attacking anyone for being black, Jewish, Mexican, Asian, female or white. I am exposing what I see as a hypocrisy at the top of the MUFON food chain. Harzan even joked about it, saying that he’d remove J Z Knight as a state director, but she wasn’t one. He wasn’t concerned about the image that projected to the rest of the world, which I would have thought would have been one of the more important elements of the discussion.
What it boils down to here is this: is the Inner Circle nothing more than a donation level group, or does it actually have a larger function and influential impact as suggested by the Inner Circle information on the web site? Does it help influence the direction of MUFON or is it just a cash cow created to stroke the egos of a few people who have more dollars than sense? There is a contradiction here which suggests that the Executive Director is not overly concerned with the radical and expressed views of some of these people because they have money. He says, on the one hand, they have no influence, but the web site says they do and if they do, then the leadership owes it to the membership to address these concerns.
(I will note here that the situation seems to change day by day, but there hasn’t been the response from the leadership that you would expect… I found some of the things said by Harzan during my interview to be said more as a joke than anything else, including his seemingly tongue in cheek claim that he had sort of bought his position as Executive Director. MUFON needs real leadership and not lip service.)
kevinrandle.blogspot.com/2017/06/mufon-racism-and-dodging-questions.html
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Post by Morgan Sierra on Jun 28, 2017 19:01:37 GMT -6
I was always under the impression that the inner circle and board of directors was the same group of people.
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Post by swamprat on Jul 22, 2017 20:47:39 GMT -6
Angelia Joiner shared James Clarkson's post. I worked closely with Robert Powell. He is a great researcher and a good man. I totally understand why he left MUFON with the likes of Corey Goode being a headliner at the symposium. Their loss.
Science has left the building – The Historic MUFON 2017 Symposium and How the Show Must Go On Posted on: July 22nd, 2017 by James Clarkson
This morning I opened my computer and immediately took a powerful two punch combination on the jaw. Someone I respect highly in the field of UFO Investigation was praising the victorious opening of the 2017 MUFON Symposium where Corey Goode and his secret career in the Space Army is the major attraction. Ticket sales and attendance are stellar; stories that are wildly sensational with no supporting evidence are the flavor of the day. Hearing this researcher praise the “historic” 2017 MUFON Symposium, I wondered what kind of Jim Jones Kool-Aid they were serving in Las Vegas. How this praise of the Corey Goode 2017 MUFON Hoannarium is reconciled with the now cliché mission statement of MUFON is the subject of this article: MUFON – The scientific investigation of UFOs for the benefit of humanity. Requiescat in pace.
The punch that knocked me out of my chair and on to the floor was when I opened my e-mail. I received an announcement from Robert Powell, MUFON Director of Scientific Research – He resigned and is leaving MUFON right before this year’s MUFON Symposium began. Here is a quote from the MUFON website about some of the major work he has accomplished for MUFON and the field of Ufology:
Robert Powell joined MUFON in 2006 and has been the Director of Research at MUFON since 2007. He helped establish and develop MUFON’s Science Review Board and is its current leader. He is a Texas state section director and an active Field Investigator in the state of Texas having completed over 120 investigations and is a MUFON STAR Team member.
His background also includes 28 years of engineering management work in the semi-conductor industry and managing a state-of-the-art chemistry laboratory and managing a Research and Development group that worked on nanotechnology using atomic force microscopes, near-field optical microscopy, and other techniques. His departure signals that the last dissenting voice has left MUFON management. He has been a voice of reason and his integrity as a scientist was holding back MUFON leadership from its push to make MUFON into a million dollar enterprise.
His resignation is a statement of protest about the speaker selection of the current Symposium. After communicating with him today and in the light of the departure of Rich Hoffman who was a member of MUFON since its beginning in 1969, it is very clear that these are “historical” times for MUFON and Ufology. Powell found himself alone trying to persuade Jan Harzan and the Board not to choose the Secret Space Program as the theme of the 2017 Symposium. Rich Hoffman before he quit felt himself alone and losing the battle to help State Directors and Field Investigators.
If you believe as I do, that for many years MUFON had a proud place in the field of UFO Investigation, then the Corey Goode MUFON 2017 Symposium is historical in the same sense that history was made when the Titanic hit the iceberg on that fateful night on April 15, 1912. There will be survivors in the water and some may be rescued, but the mighty ship will sail no more. It may take a while to sink, but as a serious investigative organization, I don’t see how they will convince anyone but themselves that MUFON is reputable. As a UFO entertainment company – it may do very well thanks to unprovable claims like those of Corey Goode, Jaime Maussan, and others.
But let’s don’t confuse the issues. The 2017 MUFON Symposium was held in a beautiful venue outside of Las Vegas. There are many very dedicated people in MUFON and I know they work diligently on reported UFOs, and once a year they get to meet, completely at their own expense with no discounts for anybody. It is very difficult to attend such an event for much less than about $2,000 if you live any distance away. For many dedicated people in MUFON that cost is out of their reach. But the flow of money, energy, and resources to MUFON Headquarters is a one-way street. The monetary, business side of MUFON is the dark side.
In fairness, the economic argument is that a large national organization cannot continue unless it has an experienced corporate manager like Jan Harzan. And just like so many corporations across the world that pay high salaries and dividends to those at the top, their compensation becomes the primary driving issue behind all decision-making. Infrastructure improvement in the form of a faster, modern server for the MUFON Case Management System, some investment in the cost of major investigations, perhaps a discount incentive for State Directors who donate hundreds of hours continually – these are issues that are paid lip service, but they are never realized. Like so many corporations the original vision of their founders is lost in the necessities of the marketplace and the supreme commandment that revenue must be increased at all costs. The public is fickle and shallow. They must be continually titillated or they lose interest. This is a sad reality.
Perhaps it is not possible for a large-scale UFO investigative organization to exist any longer if it maintains rigorous research standards and investigative integrity. Pointing out how implausible Corey Goode’s Time Travel Resume is, simply isn’t any fun. The public wants whatever is sensational, not what is objectively true. Robert Powell’s departure from MUFON is very much like the departure of the last real scientist from Trump’s cabinet. Once rid of all that pesky “science stuff,” then the Hollow Earth and the Secret Space Armada will help sell tickets for many years to come. At least this way what is important will continue – the revenue stream to MUFON headquarters.
Not long after Jan Harzan became the MUFON CEO in 2013 he hired a business consulting firm. All the State Directors completed a lengthy written questionnaire about their MUFON state organizations. Six directors were interviewed at length by telephone and I was one of them. The questions were not about problems recruiting investigators, coping with the costs of renting venues for meetings, an antiquated computer system or burdensome reporting forms. Instead the questions always came back to one theme: How much revenue do you get from your MUFON organization and how much can you donate to headquarters?
Two things come to mind when I think about the Corey Goode phenomena: the first is a delightful book I read to my children by Dr. Suess titled The Big Brag. To succeed in telling a whopper you just must outdo all the other liars. The second is an anecdote from my police career. We were called to a disorder in a local nightclub at closing. We were told that a dangerously out of control Vietnam Vet was behind the bar and he was threatening to kill anyone who went back there. The employees were fearful. We asked if anyone knew his name and the name Bob Richards was given, a well-known local belligerent drunk.
We called out his name. He answered loudly from behind the bar and then began threatening to kill any of us who approached him because he claimed to be ex-Special Forces from Vietnam. One of the officers yelled out, “If you’re Bob Richards from southside, wouldn’t you have been about 12 years old when the Vietnam War happened?” There was a long silence and moments later we were leading Bob Richards away in handcuffs without resistance. The point: To be important, he needed people to believe his story. It worked as long as no one could prove that it was untrue. The story is so much more effective if you can’t prove it one way or the other. And Corey Goode has created a Big Brag that no one can challenge, more especially now that he has been honored by MUFON. The details he provides are delightfully derivative from numerous Contactee testimonies over many years. PT Barnum would love Mr. Goode.
Goode claims to have had a 20-year career with the Secret Space program and because of time travel, in our timeline he was only gone for a moment. No one can ever prove or disprove anything he claims. His only fear is the competition like Jaime Maussan and the Peruvian Plaster of Paris Alien Mummy. If you believe Goode’s claims without question, I can make you a great deal on the Space Needle in Seattle, which is a camouflaged galactic star cruiser parked on its tower for emergency deployment. Presenters like Goode will help sell Symposium tickets for years to come; their credibility will never be damaged by something annoying, like evidence.
My own experience with the MUFON Special Assignments Team (SAT) taught me the same lesson repeatedly: if your investigation does not endorse the spectacular claims of any witness whose story is of commercial interest to Jan Harzan, then your conclusions will be ignored by management. The only criteria for being given the stage in MUFON is whether or the story has enough “sizzle to sell.”
The Special Assignments Team (SAT) was asked in 2015 to investigate “part” of a very dubious UFO Crash case submitted by Paola Harris. Who ever heard of partially investigating a UFO report, especially when the key piece of evidence is a cast aluminum windmill pump part that is being presented as an artifact stolen from the interior of a crashed UFO in 1945? The SAT found critical investigative failures. She claimed the site was deliberately planted with noxious weeds that were genetically modified by the Government to deter UFO researchers from exploring the alleged crash site, and then on Harris’ own YouTube videos, we see the same group walking through the weeds wearing shorts. Apparently, they no longer needed to wear the full body isolation suits that look so “scientific” on camera. Frank Kimbler, who is a scientific researcher from Roswell, pointed out that the claims of Harris’ elderly witness were not supported by the evidence. The SAT agreed. But such a finding doesn’t sell Symposium tickets. And the result? We got to watch Harris be given special status and an award for investigative excellence at the 2016 Symposium. This is one example of many.
Scientific research and investigative integrity are still attempted by many state directors and field investigators, but those qualities are irrelevant to management decision-making. They are the loyal crew who haven’t yet realized their ship is no longer seaworthy. The departure of Robert Powell signals the end of an era when MUFON aspired to seriously investigate the UFO Mystery. Now it is all for show. Keep the lights low and the circus noisy, and the show will continue.
With Rich Hoffman and Robert Powell gone, Science, Reason and Investigative Integrity have left the building for the good of increased revenue. JZ Knight aka Ramtha with all her wealth and power is now guiding the MUFON Inner Circle; nothing stands in the way of MUFON becoming the greatest UFO Show on Earth.
jamesclarksonufo.com/articles-and-commentary/science-has-left-the-building-the-historic-mufon-2017-symposium-and-how-the-show-must-go-on
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Post by auntym on Aug 2, 2017 12:00:57 GMT -6
badufos.blogspot.com/2017/08/mufon-unravels.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+BadUfosSkepticismUfosAndTheUniverse-ByRobertSheaffer+%28Bad+UFOs%3A+Skepticism%2C+UFOs%2C+and+The+Universe+-+by+Robert+Sheaffer%29Tuesday, August 1, 2017 MUFON UnravelsPosted by Robert Sheaffer / A few years ago, MUFON - the largest UFO group in the U.S., and probably the world - seemed to be riding high. Its motto is, "The scientific study of UFOs for the benefit of humanity." Its TV show Hangar 1 on the "History" Channel was attracting attention and new members, in spite of being soundly denounced for its sensationalism by practically every serious student of UFOlogy. Today, MUFON has hit a very rough patch, and seems to be skidding out of control. This year's problems began with a big controversy over John Ventre, MUFON's Pennsylvania State Director. Ventre already had a reputation for not being the sharpest blade in the drawer, for example suggesting that Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 disappeared because it was abducted by extraterrestrials. In May Ventre posted some racist comments on social media, and when challenged on them, he did not back down. He instead went on a bizarre rant about how UFOs are actually "demonic" and claimed that the people who came out against his racist rant were in fact a conspiracy of atheists and ancient astronaut theorists who have been deceived into worshiping demons. At first MUFON director Jan Harzan disavowed all responsibility or concern for Ventre's postings on social media, despite the general consternation about them. Finally, Harzan wrote, "After discussion with MUFON Leadership it has been determined that it is in the best interest of both MUFON and Mr. Ventre that he be removed as State Director of Pennsylvania. This is effective immediately. MUFON does not condone racial discrimination in any form and has always provided equal opportunity to all regardless of race, religion, sex, age or national origin and will proudly continue to do so." But Ventre still apparently remains as a member of MUFON's Inner Circle, another MUFON absurdity that has received absolutely no attention until just now. The Inner Circle status is attained with a donation of $5,000 or more. Whether you have had a UFO sighting or are just interested in UFOs, you are welcome to join. With your donation comes all of the perks and benefits offered by the title. Inner Circle members provide advisory guidance to MUFON and are included in annual conference calls, attend private functions during the Symposium, and afforded reserved seating at MUFON events, and much more! So that's it: all it takes to become a member of MUFON's Inner Circle is to contribute at least $5,000 a year. In addition to Harzan and Ventre, J. Z. Knight - famous for her supposed "channeling" of a 35,000 year old warrior from Lemuria named "Ramtha" - is also a member of MUFON's Inner Circle, and presumably provides "advisory guidance" to the organization. Knight has been accused of unleashing "drunken racist homophobic rants" to her large following. Another bone of contention was the blatantly unscientific and irrational content announced for MUFON's 2017 Symposium in Las Vegas, the "Case for a Secret Space Program." In the weeks leading up to the Symposium, rumors were flying about a supposed "disclosure announcement" that was supposed to occur in conjunction with the Symposium. Of course, nothing of the kind occurred. CONTINUE READING: badufos.blogspot.com/2017/08/mufon-unravels.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+BadUfosSkepticismUfosAndTheUniverse-ByRobertSheaffer+%28Bad+UFOs%3A+Skepticism%2C+UFOs%2C+and+The+Universe+-+by+Robert+Sheaffer%29
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Post by swamprat on Feb 8, 2018 18:02:31 GMT -6
Director of Research Announced
Earlier in January, MUFON Executive Director Jan C. Harzan introduced Dr. Chris Cogswell as the newest Director of Research.
Chris received his PhD in chemical engineering, focusing on the study of nano-materials for use as catalysts and adsorbents from Northeastern University. His bachelor degrees are in chemical engineering and philosophy from the University of New Hampshire.Chris brings to the job his high energy and great enthusiasm to continue the scientific approach to studying the UFO phenomenon started by his predecessors Dr. Robert Wood and Robert Powell, who each previously held the position 10 years.
One of Chris's first orders of business will be to revitalize the research and consultant ranks within MUFON. As an organization, we are blessed to have more than 300 PhDs in our membership, as well as an equal or greater number of master degrees. There is a wealth of talent available to tackle even the toughest investigation or research project. Knowing where these skills lie, and which individuals are ready to help in the investigation or discovery of a case or research project, are important logistical questions, and ones that Chris and his team plan to answer. Once the research resource team is confirmed, the plan will be to set up research projects to explore the many facets of the UFO mystery, as well as publish scientific papers on what is discovered.
Chris also wishes to create a monthly science and research column for The MUFON Journal, as well as work with the Communications department to produce podcasts with notable researchers both inside and outside of MUFON. Currently he hosts a podcast on the history and philosophy of science and fringe science claims, and is interested in how technologies and sciences are accepted by societies.
By doing these things, Chris hopes to bring a seriousness and strong research focus to this field, as well as look at the questions posed by these phenomena from angles previously not focused on by the UFO research community. The plan is that by doing this, critical thinking will be stimulated, and deeper discussion, debate and discovery of the UFO phenomenon will ensue.
Chris currently resides in Saint Paul, Minnesota, with his wife. Please join us in congratulating Chris on his appointment as MUFON Director of Research.
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Post by auntym on Apr 19, 2018 13:49:31 GMT -6
www.phantomsandmonsters.com/2018/04/daily-2-cents-mufons-continued.html Wednesday, April 18, 2018 MUFON's Continued IgannancePosted by Lon Strickler / plus.google.com/+LonStrickler MUFON's Continued IgannanceIt's been almost 11 months since the racism controversy began at MUFON...all resulting from a post made on Facebook: MUFON's Most Recent Scandal...RACISM! www.phantomsandmonsters.com/2017/05/daily-2-cents-mufons-most-recent.html I received a lot of pushback and several threats for being the original advocate who 1st reported the offending post...but I also received a multitude of support.More recently, another official realized that that MUFON hadn't kept its word to the membership and resigned from the organization. In January MUFON selected Chris Cogswell, a Minnesota-based podcaster with a PhD in chemical engineering, as their new director of research. On Friday night, just four months later, Cogswell abruptly resigned after learning that MUFON is still closely aligned with Ventre. He sent MUFON the following letter: To whom it may Concern,
It is with a heavy heart that I must report my resignation from my position as director of research for the Mutual UFO Network. Yesterday afternoon (Friday, April 13th 2018) it came to my attention that John Ventre, former state director for Pennsylvania, has had a continued role within MUFON as an active member, is listed as a paid consultant, conference coordinator, and treasurer for the PA chapter, and is a part of the preparations for the upcoming symposium. I was stunned to receive an e-mail from Mr. Ventre stating that he was the “guy putting together the symposium” for National MUFON, and even more stunned when his involvement was not strongly condemned and denied. Had I known that Mr. Ventre was not completely removed from MUFON, despite the upheaval that may have caused and potential further resignations that may have followed from those who did not see the issue with what he wrote, I would never have joined. I believed, as I am sure the vast majority of the interested public believes, that he had been completely removed from MUFON and any attempt to return to the fold of this organization would have been completely and instantly rebuffed. However, as l have now discovered through discussion with MUFON, looking at the MUFON PA website and their list of upcoming speakers at their local conventions, and investigating the public comments from Mr. Ventre since his racist diatribe it is clear that this is not the case. I expect this evidence will be removed from these websites, as it is clear that this process has already begun taking place.
When I joined MUFON I had hoped to bring a scientific viewpoint and strong critique of ideas to this field. Sadly, it appears I will have to attempt that effort elsewhere. I am very grateful to those who gave me the opportunity to begin this process, and to those who believed in my plan moving forward. I am sorry that my trust was misplaced, and that your trust in me was not protected correctly.
Chris
MUFON need to realize that racism and intolerance, in any degree, is never acceptable. Lon
www.phantomsandmonsters.com/2018/04/daily-2-cents-mufons-continued.html
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Post by auntym on Apr 19, 2018 16:47:09 GMT -6
www.theufochronicles.com/2018/04/mufon-official-quits-over-support-of-john-ventre.html Thursday, April 19, 2018 MUFON Official Quits Over Support of John Ventre, After Racist Rant From a Year Ago Top MUFON Official Quits Over Organization's Continued Support of John Ventre a Year After Ventre's Racist RantBy Jason Colavito / www.jasoncolavito.com/blog/top-mufon-official-over-organizations-continued-support-of-john-ventre-a-year-after-ventres-racist-rant4-17-18 On Wednesday, the Smithsonian Channel will air the controversial Canadian Ice Bridge documentary that revived claims that the first Americans were Europeans known as the Solutreans who crossed the Atlantic during the Ice Age. The documentary was roundly criticized in Canada for its lack of attention to the racist uses of the Solutrean myth and for its endorsement of a hypothesis for which little evidence exists. While the show aired on the CBC in Canada, the country’s major public broadcaster, here in the U.S. it will screen on digital tier cable, meaning that pretty much nobody will watch it. The Smithsonian Channel is a partnership between CBS-owned Showtime and the Smithsonian Institution, which employs Dennis Stanford, the major advocate of the Solutrean theory and the star of the documentary Meanwhile, there is new fallout this week from last year’s racism scandal at the Mutual UFO Network. Regular readers will recall that last May, one of the organization’s most important figures, John Ventre, posted racist comments to Facebook in which he ranted about systemic bias against white people and alleged that “everything this world is was created by Europeans and Americans. F’ing blacks didn’t even have a calendar, a wheel or a numbering system until the Brits showed up.” MUFON took little action, issuing a milquetoast statement distancing themselves from Ventre, who blamed literal demons from hell, arguing that “Satan’s minions” control flying saucers and are responsible for atheists and ancient astronaut theorists alike. Ventre resigned his leadership post, but the organization never cut ties with him. Only now, however, are some of MUFON’s members realizing this fact. In January MUFON selected Chris Cogswell, a Minnesota-based podcaster with a PhD in chemical engineering, as their new director of research. On Friday night, just four months later, Cogswell abruptly resigned after learning that MUFON is still closely aligned with Ventre. He sent MUFON the following letter: To whom it may Concern, It is with a heavy heart that I must report my resignation from my position as director of research for the Mutual UFO Network. Yesterday afternoon (Friday, April 13th 2018) it came to my attention that John Ventre, former state director for Pennsylvania, has had a continued role within MUFON as an active member, is listed as a paid consultant, conference coordinator, and treasurer for the PA chapter, and is a part of the preparations for the upcoming symposium. I was stunned to receive an e-mail from Mr. Ventre stating that he was the “guy putting together the symposium” for National MUFON, and even more stunned when his involvement was not strongly condemned and denied. Had I known that Mr. Ventre was not completely removed from MUFON, despite the upheaval that may have caused and potential further resignations that may have followed from those who did not see the issue with what he wrote, I would never have joined. I believed, as I am sure the vast majority of the interested public believes, that he had been completely removed from MUFON and any attempt to return to the fold of this organization would have been completely and instantly rebuffed. However, as l have now discovered through discussion with MUFON, looking at the MUFON PA website and their list of upcoming speakers at their local conventions, and investigating the public comments from Mr. Ventre since his racist diatribe it is clear that this is not the case. I expect this evidence will be removed from these websites, as it is clear that this process has already begun taking place. When I joined MUFON I had hoped to bring a scientific viewpoint and strong critique of ideas to this field. Sadly, it appears I will have to attempt that effort elsewhere. I am very grateful to those who gave me the opportunity to begin this process, and to those who believed in my plan moving forward. I am sorry that my trust was misplaced, and that your trust in me was not protected correctly. ChrisMUFON has never formally broken ties with Ventre, and the organization has enabled him to remain engaged in the UFO field even after exposing himself as a racist with extreme occult beliefs. The broader UFO community has also continued its involvement with Ventre. In a few weeks, just about exactly one year after his racist rant, Ventre will be a featured speaker at the Mile High Mysteries Conference in Colorado alongside Linda Moulton Howe, John Greenewald, and others. I applaud Cogswell for taking a principled stand, and I continue to be amazed that ufologists in general terms have a rather high tolerance for racism, both from figures in the field and from the ideas promulgated in the name of ufology. Ancient astronaut theorists have not been shy about advocating for outdated beliefs about the inferiority of the African race, for example. Erich von Däniken once called Africans a bungled hybridization experiment only rectified by the creation of the white race. Jim Marrs and David Icke have flirted with outright anti-Semitism, and the so-called alt-right features figures who happily cross between the UFO and racist worlds, like Jason Reza Jorjani, who advocates for the Aryan race (broadly defined) and for the ancient astronaut theory. www.jasoncolavito.com/blog/top-mufon-official-over-organizations-continued-support-of-john-ventre-a-year-after-ventres-racist-rant MUFON, RACISM & DODGING THE QUESTIONS: www.theufochronicles.com/2017/06/mufon-racism-and-dodging-questions.html
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Post by swamprat on Apr 29, 2018 18:44:03 GMT -6
Oh, Good Lord! Now, we've made Newsweek!WHAT IF ALIENS MET RACISTS? MUFON RESIGNATIONS HIGHLIGHT INTERNAL DIVISIONS IN UFO SIGHTINGS ORGANIZATIONBY Andrew Whalen ON 4/29/18
The Mutual UFO Network, or MUFON, is an all-volunteer organization dedicated to investigating unidentified flying objects (UFOs) in all 50 states and more than 40 countries through a decentralized network of state chapters and local field investigators. While the organization’s mission is promoting UFO research and discovering “the true nature of the phenomenon,” the most hoped for scenario is, of course, extraterrestrial first contact (unless government Disclosure comes first).
Imagine an alien race finally comes to Earth and this is the man they meet:
XXXXX-----I am not going to show Ventre's post here because I find it abhorrent. Suffice it to say it was blatantly racist. If you must read it, you can find it without my help.
Swamp
Continuing: That’s John Ventre. He was, until recently, MUFON State Director for Pennsylvania and oversaw field investigations of the most compelling of the state’s approximately 600 annual UFO sightings. You may have seen him on History Channel's UFO Hunters or Anderson Live.
Ventre’s comments have kicked off a wave of anger and resignations across MUFON, most recently UFO researcher Dr. Chris Cogswell.
Cogswell was named Director of Research for MUFON in January, but announced his resignation from the organization on Twitter in April. “When I first joined MUFON, taking on the Director of Research position, I believed this issue [with Ventre] had been dealt with,” Cogswell said. But on April 13, Cogswell learned of Ventre’s “continued role within MUFON as an active member” after Ventre emailed him about preparations for the 2018 MUFON Symposium in Cherry Hill, NJ. “Within six hours of finding out I had resigned. My internal conscience would not let me continue,” he said.
MUFON boasts nearly 4,000 members and 500 investigators across a coalition of just-the-facts data collectors, alien abductees, far-thinking engineers, conspiracy theorists, ancient alien pseudohistorians, religious visionaries and ufology enthusiasts of every possible stripe. If MUFON is successful, who would the first aliens actually meet? An organization representative of the full spectrum of human experience, or a club of aging white men?
It’s a question MUFON is currently struggling to answer, with Ventre’s post a crisis point in the organization’s ongoing evolution.
MUFON Executive Director Jan Harzan initially responded to Ventre’s post in a since-deleted message to the MUFON News page, disclaiming the organization’s responsibility for a Facebook comment “many found offensive.” Instead of condemning Ventre’s words, Harzan blamed the controversy on “the new social media world we now live in” and called for an open dialogue, writing, “There is no justice in hate, no matter what side of the fence you are on. On that we can all agree.”
After a deluge of angry responses, punctuated with pushback from MUFON Director of Communications Roger Marsh—who, in between arguing in the comments “white supremacist” is a “pretty heavy label” for Ventre, instead pointed out Ventre’s “real” personality defects, including “serving cheap food at his mansion”—MUFON deleted the post and comment field. Harzan’s rhetorical question, “Who is worse, the persons posting, or the haters hating?” is still derisively cited by UFO bloggers.
“It’s almost comical, in a field where there’s so much leeway given to extreme out-of-the-blue, wacky ideas, you would still think there would be kind of a baseline of, well, this is right or wrong,” Cogswell told Newsweek.
Another professed goal of MUFON is applying their UFO research toward “improving life on our planet.” According to Harzan, meaningful UFO discoveries and disclosures could mean we’re only “20-30 years from being out in space, like Star Trek.” But Star Trek is more than spaceships, it’s also an egalitarian ideal.
“I don’t hate anybody, I apologized for what I said. It was in a fit of anger, it was one time in my entire life,” Ventre said, mentioning his multiracial grandson and a black man from his gym for whom he arranged a job interview. “I’m feeling like because I’m a 60-year-old white man I’m getting totally unfairly attacked here.”
By the end of May 2017, Ventre was removed from his state directorship, but MUFON’s response didn’t stop a wave of researchers from distancing themselves. In July, board member and Washington State Director James Clarkson stepped down, citing both Ventre’s post and MUFON’s association with deep-pocketed donors like J.Z. Knight.
Knight preaches to tens of thousands of followers through her Lemurian warrior persona Ramtha, a 35,000-year-old spirit who leads “spiritual drinking games” while accusing Jewish people of paying their way out of the gas chambers and disparaging Mexicans, homosexuals and “organic farmers.” Like Knight, Ventre was also a high-tier “Inner Circle” donor to MUFON.
Asked for comment after the Cogswell resignation, Clarkson told Newsweek, “There are many excellent state organizations, but money and power have corrupted the top. Same old story.”
Current and former MUFON members, including Cogswell, have described Ventre’s ongoing involvement in the Pennsylvania chapter. Despite the events of last year he continues to serve as a treasurer and conference coordinator, albeit without a title. Ventre denied having an official position, but clarified both his ongoing involvement in planning the Symposium and day-to-day operations. “People ask me questions, I help them. I’m helping Jan [Harzan, Executive Director] with the Symposium. I wanted him to know I am friends with all these people,” he said. “Nothing locally has changed for me.”
Harzan disputes that characterization. “He’s strictly a volunteer, he attends the local chapter meeting and he volunteers his time,” he said.
“It wasn’t a condemnation. It was a demotion,” UFO researcher and author of Somewhere in the Skies Ryan Sprague told Newsweek. “It’s clear that there’s a problem. And that problem stretches beyond one man’s racist rants.”
Even a cursory look around MUFON reveals views similar to Ventre’s. Steve Hudgeons Jr., MUFON’s Director of Investigations, has shared hundreds of far-right memes on his own Facebook page with anti-immigrant, anti-trans and anti-Muslim sentiments.
“Demographically, in my experience, MUFON is old; 55 and up for sure,” Cogswell said. "There is a pretty good percentage of ex-military, ex-law enforcement people who are very serious about this investigation stuff.” This can lead to radically different approaches for how UFO sightings are investigated or perceived. Where Ventre sees occult connections, citing alien abductions interrupted by the abductee calling upon Jesus, Cogswell might argue for a more data-driven approach. “Wouldn’t it be great if in five years Ancient Aliens was off TV and we had more serious investigations?” he asked.
The combination of demographics likely to align with far-right viewpoints, and the overlap between UFO researchers and conspiracy theorists, produces an environment that Sprague and others argue can be toxic to minorities.
“MUFON is composed of civilian researchers and investigators from all around the country and in all walks of life,” Sprague says. “But when remarks such as Ventre’s become public, it is extremely disheartening to know someone like that is in a position to work directly with ethnically diverse and often vulnerable witnesses of UFO events.”
Racism isn’t the only outcome of MUFON’s disinterest in combating prejudice. Erica Lukes, former MUFON State Director for Utah, describes an organization unwilling to adequately address sexual harassment. (Harzan told Newsweek MUFON has a sexual harassment policy for the Symposium and other conferences, but it's not available online).
In 2016, Lukes appeared on California MUFON Radio, hosted by Lorien Fenton, to discuss both her particular experiences and the wider issue of sexism within ufology. “One of the things that I really feel there’s a big disconnect in MUFON and in ufology, totally together, is the fact that women out there can be very vulnerable at all these events,” Fenton said in discussion with Lukes. MUFON leadership quickly objected to how the organization was characterized.
When Lukes, who also has a radio show, shared her intention to have Fenton as a guest the backlash intensified. An investigator with MUFON’s rapid-response Star Team called her to unleash a barrage of abuse. “He proceeded to call me ‘a *bleeping* whore,’” Lukes said.
Lukes reported the abuse to MUFON’s board, including Harzan and Marsh. “I was crying, this was very awkward for me, but they refused to take any action even though this was a person representing MUFON and I was a State Director.”
“It is a male-dominated field, but that doesn’t mean anybody should be subject to that kind of abuse and bullying, especially when an organization exists like MUFON to set the standard,” Lukes said. She ultimately left MUFON and founded her own organization called Unexplained Utah. “This situation is demeaning and demoralizing. We have to get more women involved and we have to see more women in the field.”
Members of MUFON and the wider ufology community are united by incidents both mysterious and beautiful, sometimes frightening. Almost everyone contacted for this article had stories of ineffable encounters that changed the course of their lives. In Utah, Erica Lukes saw orange orbs of light hovering along a ridgeline, breaking apart or melding like cells on a slide. UFO researcher and co-founder of KGRA Radio Lorin Cutts described to me a craft hovering above him on a railway station platform, causing dogs to bark and projecting a heat he could feel on his face.
www.newsweek.com/ufo-sightings-mufon-2018-john-ventre-alien-extraterrestrial-905060
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