MUFON director defends actions, denies exaggerations of "Blockbuster UFO Discoveries"

MUFON director defends actions, denies exaggerations of "Blockbuster UFO Discoveries"

Here is an article I just came across that is an update to the events following MUFON's 2012 annual symposium. Obviously its main focus is addressing MUFON's International Director David MacDonald's very intriguing & provocative promises earlier in July that he was not only in possession of, but declares to release not one, but TWO major "Blockbuster UFO Discoveries" that will resonate throughout the UFO community for years to come!

I for one wished after hearing the results that I could personally have a moment with Mr. MacDonald to ask him EXACTLY what this article addresses and personally I am not at all satisfied with his lame attempt to put a face saving/posturing spin on "WHY" what he stated "WASN'T" an exaggeration... please, my a$$ it wasn't! What do you all think? Anyone agree with my perspective on the matter? Whilst Im not surprised that the outcome was so underwhelming, what im most upset about is the easily defunct strawman setup of one of the UFO communities largest investigative networks / self proclaimed leaders of the UFO truth/disclosure movement. Putting forth a statement/promise of releasing information so sensitive, so important and so amazing (Going to release 2 major Blockbuster UFO discoveries) as to easily grab the attention of all in the UFO community and even many that havent joined the proverbial "UFO movement/club". What upsets me about this is Mr. MacDonald had to know that most everyone would be let down when the big reveal happened, yet he went ahead and announced his lies anyways. The other thing most upsetting to me is the loss of potential newcomers to the UFO truth/disclosure movement because quite simply Mr. MacDonald and MUFON successfully left any newcomers underwhelmed, left with a feeling of having wasted their time and confirming the time honored belief that has been programmed into their minds.. that anyone who takes the UFO phenomena seriously are wackos, stupid & full of sh**.

Simply put the Director of MUFON successfully reeled in many interested individuals, newcomers & the already initiated with outlandish promises that he knew ahead of time would FAIL and spewed it to the masses anyway. In doing so he has again let us down, EPIC let down at that (those who have been here watching for a long time) and successfully pushed away, confirmed the beliefs of any possible newcomers to the scene that were intrigued by the Blockbuster Discoveries headline that we are all dumb or cant be taken seriously because time and again stunts pulled like this most recent one at MUFON just lend to the notion that the UFO Phenomena isnt to be taken seriously, and you know what? They would be right in thinking that in a way, after all if the biggest names / leaders in the UFO truth / discloser movement cant be taken seriously then why should any underlings or lesser known individuals be taken seriously? IMHO MUFON & its Director David MacDonald have done the cause a disservice in a big way this time...

Mutual UFO Network executive director David 'The Captain' MacDonald defended the manner the information presented at the recent annual symposium was touted as “major” and “blockbuster,” stating that importance is in the eye of the beholder. When asked via email to comment on disappointments expressed, as well as specifically what “material” was considered to be so “sensitive” that “proper security protocols” were implemented to protect the material and parties involved, MacDonald replied:

The sensitive material which requires "proper security protocol" is the Leonard Stringfield files which have been acquired by MUFON . These files contain material which names names, dates, places and events of such a nature that special caution needs to be exercised. In regards to that material, we absolutely stand by our statement. I briefly described the nature of the contents in my opening remarks at the Symposium. To date, I have heard no disappointment pertaining to that release.

Article: MUFON Director defends accusations of exaggerating "Blockbuster UFO Discoveries"

Enjoy and please share your thoughts on the matter here!

Discuss...

reply to post by anathema777


Is anyone surprised that supposedly "Blockbuster UFO Discoveries" came to nothing at all?

just used to try and rake in more money.

Here's an article posted on Ghost Theory that may apply to this:

30 Years of UFO crash reports go public

Sixty volumes of “meticulous UFO research over 30 years” by the late Ufologist Leonard H. Stringfield were donated to the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON), according to an August 3, 2012, announcement by MUFON Executive Director David MacDonald who spoke at the organization’s annual symposium.

“In those 60 volumes we have government interference, the FBI and CIA stopping the ufologists at any cost,” Ventre said. “He names Donald Rumbsfeld and President Ford as being briefed on UFOs by J. Allen Hynek. He talks about UFO investigators being beaten or receiving death threats. He names heads of state that knew. He even has actor Jackie Gleason’s contact information in there. There is a lot of explosive information in there.”

It goes on further to say:

Leonard Stringfield (1920–1994) was an American Ufologist who took particular interest in crashed flying saucer stories. His contacts in the medical field gave him the first descriptions of the alien bodies allegedly recovered at Roswell or elsewhere.

Thus, within these 60 volumes of material, there's supposed evidence indicting several big names in politics with unbecoming behavior, associations, and possible participation in big events.
Further, there's supposed evidence relating to alleged alien bodies, and flying saucer crashes.

Such, if new material, could very well be considered worthy of some sort of note.

reply to post by spoor

Yeah add that to the list of reasons Im upset at MUFON at the moment.

They're supposed to lend credit to the study of UFO's and those who support the cause. It would seem by their actions as of late that they are doing exactly the opposite! What the hell I ask? This is tantamount to the 9/11 truth movement claiming that the planes were just holograms (woops they did say that, at least some) and in doing so effectively discredit all of the facts/theories that do hold water from being believed because after hearing such a claim any semi coherent individual that may have started to question the "official explanation" wont look any further for fear of ridicule or because the heap of far fetched crap information has buried the relevant information. As they say, in doing so they "Threw the baby out with the bathwater".

reply to post by Druscilla


Druscilla while I agree the new info is worth looking at and possibly of some importance I am curious as to your thoughts specifically on Mr. MacDonalds claims, over exaggerations? I mean after you read the article I linked you almost must be left wondering what the hell was this guy smoking? If his claims are to be assumed to be relevant to his released info I feel it would have been more accurate had he stated "We are going to release some new information of great importance to the UFO community which pertains to still ongoing investigations 30+ years in the making" not all the crap about having to "take proper security measures" and "safely secure those who have possession of said information". I mean any way you cut it his claims were just way, way over the top. It would be a totally fair statement for me to say "Im still waiting for MUFON to release their Blockbuster UFO Discoveries, etc..."

Please elaborate on your feelings on the matter Druscilla, Im just interested to hear you perspective. Thanks.

reply to post by anathema777


Well, considering some of the names listed like Donald Rumsfeld and who knows who else, plus all the documentation that details UFO researchers involved with certain investigations getting beaten, jailed, and even disappeared, all contained within these 60 volumes, it's actually a smart move to take security measures.

If these documents contain evidence that could indict someone currently in power with formal legal proceedings regarding criminal, or criminally negligent behavior, there very well could be some repercussions for the poor fellows that happen to be holding that hot potato if nothing is done to protect them.

Sure, we all want the info, and we all want the info right now, but, if there is such a thing as TPTB lurking in dark spooky corners ready to pounce upon the unsuspecting or unprepared (as may be indicated in some of these documents), then taking certain precautions against any sort of underhanded interference meant to intentionally thwart the publication of this data would be the right thing to do to ensure the data does indeed see the light of day.

reply to post by Druscilla


I actually starred two of your posts and agree with them. It depends on what is in those files. There have been other releases of declassified information that was really good and many witnesses who have come forward, but if those files contain what is said this would be something big, and how he will get it out safely would be a big concern.

reply to post by anathema777


on a personal note...

2 years ago a close friend called up the Oregon Director and had a chat and in the course of the convo the director stated that.."99% of all investigations were ID'd and YT is crap for UFO because they're all faked."

that jilted me a bit.. and my translation was..

"we really don't believe this crap.. we just report it" so I decided to withhold my personal account of a close encounter from MUFON

reply to post by anathema777
Whatever our own views on these press statements, they are 'blockbuster' to MUFON. Len Stringfield has been taking reports for decades about crashed saucers and dead aliens from people claiming to be in the military. When he's checked them out (DD-214s etc), they apparently were guys in the forces. This alone would be deemed 'blockbuster' to MUFON. Within his decades of notes will be references, by these men, to all sorts of important names and will be like crack for the conspiracy-minded.

The thing for me is - this field has been injected for decades with nonsense stories and big claims. Some of which have apparently originated from within branches of USAF intelligence (AFOSI). Stories of Holloman AFB landings, *meet and greet* with aliens and even your Philip Corso characters. So whilst MUFON might be looking for the aliens in his files, I'd be looking for the connections or paper-trails to the folk telling the stories.

Most people haven't even heard of Len on these boards, but he was a lightning rod for stories from all over the Americas. The diaries of his years in the business could be the human history of ufology and shed light on the myth-makers too.

Well times are tough.

Do you think you're going to bring people in if you say "Well, we don't really have anything that great but we do have some documents with some names on them."
2012symposium.mufon.com...

Too cynical?

At this point, all information, is good information.

I tend to agree with Drusilla in this case. All information gathered in a rudimentary scientific method is useful.

My wonder is this: with all of the newly released files through-out the world - who is the brilliant mind to connect all the dots and make tangible sense of it all?

I run more to the fantastical, spiritual, and creative - I know what I think...but I'm biased, in my own perceptions...
But who will crack the practical applications and uses of said mystery? Where is our next Einstein?

I believe it is a scoop, if MUFON can garner media interest because of the actions or involvement by known politicians etc.

If we can get actual documentation that UFO-investigations are dangerous because the gov will want to hurt or kill you, that might also be valueable.

There has to be a personal angle to interest the media, I think.

Originally posted by Unity_99
reply to post by Druscilla

 

I actually starred two of your posts and agree with them.

No comment.

The August MUFON Journal has an editorial defending the weak blockbuster announcements. This must have been written before they were revealed, showing that there was an awareness the hype was not going to deliver.

My personal experience with MUFON is I found them to be more about turning a buck than digging for truth.

Anyone who uses the tactic of drawing attention to possible life-altering future announcements are usually pretty desperate for ratings, money or members.

I disagree with OP as far as scaring off possible new-comers to this field. I think now-a-days people are innately aware of the disingenuous promises that politicians spew so....... a sort of immunity has developed as a result.

The people who are truly looking for answers won't let this discourage them. MUFON is almost like MSM now so if anything, they risked their own reputation and this is likely to cause a drop in their annual membership and future symposium attendance.
I hope it was worth it to them.

Anyone who thinks "TPTB" don't take an interest in, often, the most menial of things is living in cloud cuckoo land and that's from personal experience in a field totally unrelated to UFOs. Wise up and smell the crap that floats to the surface almost any place you look. The point you naively all miss is that essentially, this is a game, a game played by different arms of the security forces who, are forever jostling for position with people trying to build careers within the various organisations. There also "turf wars" constantly going on behind the scenes over who has responsibility and jurisdiction over what and the most "harmless" pressure groups are often peppered with "agents" all seeking to secure their budgets for next year at the expense of another.

To a large extent, most of the work these various "investigation agencies" do, is actually utterly pointless however, there is the pervading fear amongst the various arms of the "intelligence services" that. If they don't at times, totally invent "threats" that, their department will suffer at the hands of another department both financially and in terms of perceived kudos.

There was a notorious incident back in the late 70s in London where one of the security services "busted" some cell of "anarchists" only to discover they has been spying on and infiltrating, another arm of the security services operation and no-one involved, wasn't actually a member of the security services or being paid by the security services.

The fact that so many on here seem totally unable to grasp is this. UFOs, should they exist or not, has often not been the motivation of these agencies investigations rather, it was the fall out that went and still goes with them. There was a perception that,for a military person to report a UFO sighting was, "inherently unpatriotic" as it suggested that, the USA in particular, had no real "control" over their own air space.

Plus, given the nature of early scepticism, it often being scathing in its' critique of the the personality of witnesses, it also brought into question the "suitability" of people to serve in the military in the positions they might have held. To think that the "internal security arms" didn't become involved is to simply deny the reality of how the system works.

The question therefore is this, how far did the "spooks" go to propagate reports themselves and their motivation for doing so? Further, what sort of fallout, behind the scenes as it were, occurred as a result, if one organisations "efforts", seemed to shed an unfavourable light on another of their own organisations "efforts".?

Where UFOs truly do worry TPTB is really quite simple, it throws very strange bedmates together who, under normal circumstances, would absolutely no connection to each other at all. UFO's often cut across political and religious beliefs and you are left with a core of people, from disparate backgrounds, who think their own government is BSing them about the subject.

reply to post by FireMoon


I hear what you wrote but times are changing. The agendas might not be changing too much but certainly the awareness of innocent citizens of planet Earth (who have no military or political ties) has changed.

I think there are a lot of whistle-blowers too however....who are just fed up with being silent complacent robots all these years. Especially now that a safe amount of time has gone by (talking about Roswell in particular) they feel empowered to speak out.

Sure there's still a lot of phony misdirection, motives and shills but overall, because of the Internet, a lot of groups are forming who are seeking truth.
I don't know about MUFON though. I personally quit them years ago when I couldn't deal with, what I found to be, their greediness.

But I think overall, people are aware of, at least on the surface, the games people, organizations, conspiracy forums and the governments are capable of playing. But to rebuke all UFO interest groups is only allowing the PTB to further their agenda.

Alien technology and its occupants are a real phenomenon. That's really all one has to know at this point.

Originally posted by Druscilla

Thus, within these 60 volumes of material, there's supposed evidence indicting several big names in politics with unbecoming behavior, associations, and possible participation in big events.
Further, there's supposed evidence relating to alleged alien bodies, and flying saucer crashes.

Such, if new material, could very well be considered worthy of some sort of note.

That would be worth the claim of "Blockbuster UFO Discoveries" , but only if it truly had EVIDENCE to back up the claims besides just dates and names. Unless they have footage or other physical evidence those notes won't have much value and will be no different than what evidence we already have. IMO, it was premature of them to state a "Blockbuster UFO Discoveries" without thoroughly going through the documents and verifying sources or evidence.

IMO MUFON just did a disservice to its organization by using the same marketing ploy as all the other documentaries and programs on TV.

However, I'm glad to see more people seeing through the hype.

Originally posted by Kandinsky

 

So whilst MUFON might be looking for the aliens in his files, I'd be looking for the connections or paper-trails to the folk telling the stories.

Wow! Finally I found someone who gets it. And bothers to explain. Thank you Mr. Kandinsky!

Most people haven't even heard of Len on these boards, but he was a lightning rod for stories from all over the Americas. The diaries of his years in the business could be the human history of ufology and shed light on the myth-makers too.

I admit that I didn't know about Stringfield's too, but more I read his stuff now, mostly in the old MUFON journals, more it looks to me like he was one of the myth-makers himself and maybe one of the mighty ones. What do you think?

I also find it quite funny that Stringfield was one of the interested in the alleged Kingsman UFO crash - the subject of the second MUFON blockbuster. It appears that he was the one who rebooted the story once and broke the news about alleged dead alien bodies with big head. However, Harry Drew's presentation at the symposium, claims that he has proved that it all was deliberate disinformation.

I wonder now, if the names of these particular Strinfield's Kingsman contacts can be found and checked again. Would MUFON bother to do this? Should we expect the two MUFON Blockbusters to clash into each other? That would be fun.

Originally posted by stiver

Originally posted by Kandinsky

 

So whilst MUFON might be looking for the aliens in his files, I'd be looking for the connections or paper-trails to the folk telling the stories.

Wow! Finally I found someone who gets it. And bothers to explain. Thank you Mr. Kandinsky!

We have the folk telling the stories already (Astronauts,Military officials,Pilots,etc) so what would be different? . Plus why would they come forward if they haven't already , just because their name is on a document?

So lets say that Bush Senior and Cheyenes name are found on the documents or the trail lead to them? Do you think they will come out and admit it because of some documents? How many documentary are out there that claim the Bush Senior and Cheney are in the UFO loop by connecting the dots? How could this be any different?

If the Gov't or the TPTB or whoever is in charge doesn't want disclosure then you are going to need physical evidence and not paper trails. Any paper trail found TPTB will most likely easily discredit .

As for contacting the people at the end of the trail or finding new contacts, it will prove to be a dead end as well. If those people haven't come forward I doubt they will or if they do they will not have any evidence.

In summary: we already have the leads,contacts,witnesses,gov't officials, the connected dots,etc that this so called "Blockbuster UFO Discoveries" claims to provide. What we are missing and what will be required for disclosure is physical evidence and not just reports.

What those documents do is provide years of documentarie$,re$earch,donation$,and event$ for the so called UFOlogist$ . The same UFO stuff has gotten stagnate and over exposed so they need some new material and those documents will provide it. Expect a new documentary on this.