Jack Brewer's Blog, page 10

It's Not the Topic, It's the Presentation

The controversy surrounding the Form DD1910 story gives us an opportunity to observe fundamental and chronic challenges within the UFO community. I contend these challenges are part and parcel of what hampers the genre's struggle for wider acceptance and credibility.

Established communities such as those consisting of academics, scientists, critical thinkers at large, and professional researchers and journalists do not reject the work of UFO writers solely because the work is about UFOs and re...

DoD Contradicts Knapp Story on TTSA Vids

In an April 29 post at Las Vegas Now, George Knapp asserted it was confirmed the Pentagon released the three videos published by TTSA, citing a Form DD1910 of unclear origin. John Greenewald, Jr. subsequently obtained an email statement from a Department of Defense spokesperson who explained otherwise, stating the form actually indicated the videos were "not for public release." The spokesperson further clarified at Greenewald's request the internal approval on the form "does not mean public...

A Long Way from Kitty Hawk

This is not an easy post to write, but some things need to be said and nobody is saying them (as usual).

Tyler Rogoway, Twitter

Tyler Rogoway is a writer, photographer, & journalist on aviation and military topics. If you haven't heard yet, which you should have if you're interested in UFOs, on April 26 he posted an article, What the hell is going on with UFOs and the Department of Defense? . The post explores the U.S. Navy updating UFO reporting procedures for its personnel, as well as...

UFOs as Espionage Tools

The Boyd Bushman case offers examples of how intelligence agencies might investigate people involved in wild stories of alleged aliens and UFO technology. These stories may become tools used in intelligence and counterintelligence operations to gain the trust of people issued security clearances. Beliefs in an extraterrestrial presence may then be cultivated and exploited in an effort to obtain classified information. It's not hard to envision such scenarios might substantially disrupt t...

Indoctrination by Any Other Name

QAnon is a failure of critical thinking, but it's also a failure of community. People with thriving familial and social circles simply don't waste their lives pretending John Podesta eats babies and Michelle Obama is actually a man.

- Mike Rothschild, Twitter

It could be argued whether fringe subcultures cause delusion or attract those predisposed to it, but one thing's for sure: once involved, irrationality is cultivated among participants. Unsubstantiated and extreme group beliefs are reinfor...

Disclosure Fever Spreads While Facts Remain Scarce

Sen. Harry ReidFormer Sen. Harry Reid continued to attract attention from the UFO community, this time suggesting AATIP files should not remain secret, according to a March 7 article by George Knapp. This is seemingly a complete backpedal from Reid's 2018 statements to New York Magazine when he chastised reporters, declaring there are "hundreds and hundreds of papers" on the project, "80 percent, at least is public," and "the press has never even looked at it." 

Earlier this mon...

Walsh Pasulka, Nolan Decline Comment on Alleged Security Personnel

A recently distributed Unknown Country Newsletter suggested an interview Whitley Strieber recorded with Dr. Diana Walsh Pasulka was reviewed by "security personnel" and subsequently not cleared for release. Strieber, a high profile UFO community member who does a podcast titled Dreamland, interviewed Walsh Pasulka, a Professor of Religious Studies who authored American Cosmic: UFOs, Religion, and Technology. The newsletter stated:

Because two of the individuals discussed under pseudonyms...

MUFON Grievances Lead to Continuing Accountability Issues

A five-page pdf containing grievances about the Mutual UFO Network and titled,  MUFON: The Inside Truth , was posted online. The document is dated Jan 17, 2019, and signed by Phil Leech, who identified himself as holding the title of Director Case Review Team, among other MUFON positions.

The document contains allegations of events ranging from background checks conducted on witnesses who filed UFO reports to circumstances surrounding an alleged "implant," reportedly removed from an individ...

Sometimes It's Just Con vs. Con

The History Channel's effort to dust off Project Blue Book was met with mixed reviews in the UFO community. In this post we'll look a little deeper into wider implications than the current argument about a television show. In doing so, we find a UFO genre - and arguably American culture at large - which does not expect individuals to possess neither the skills nor inclination to think critically. What's more, this is a long time staple of ufology.


Pro vs. Con

The argument about the dramatizatio...

Steinberg Asked for 'Emergency' Money 222+ Times in 2018

Gene Steinberg sent some 222 "emergency" email cash solicitations during 2018, substantially surpassing his 2017 total of 139. The 2018 total of 222 includes only emails to one specific list, and does not include similar requests made through other e-lists, websites or social media pages, all of which were also used as solicitation tools by Steinberg. The Paracast and Tech Night Owl host's 2018 email requests for cash are listed at the end of this post by subject line and date. Content f...