Reporting on the 'Reporter'

'The Pelican'
Magonia 96, October 2007

One likely reason why ufology is not taken seriously by mainstream science, muses The Pelican, is the dearth of serious literature on the subject. Of course, all but a small proportion of the UFO literature is pseudo-scientific nonsense, lies and fantasies. But what about the Serious books and journals, produced by Serious Ufologists? The Pelican has recently been studying an example of Serious UFO literature, Volume 31, No. 1 of the International UFO Reporter (January 2007).

Fear and Loathing in New Hampshire

Peter Rogerson
Magonia 96, October 2007.

In September 2000 Karl Pflock and Peter Brookesmith organised a symposium for those interested in the Betty and Barney Hill case, at the Indian Head Inn, New Hampshire, near to the site of alleged abduction. Present were the organisers, Robert Sheaffer, Dennis Stacey, Eddie Bullard, Hilary Evans, Greg Sandow, moderator Marcello Truzzi, sponsor Joe Firmage and a guest appearance by Betty herself, along with her niece Kathy Marden.

Spectres Meeting in a Cemetery. Part One.

David Sivier
Magonia 96, October 2007

Undoubtedly one of the strangest features of the conspiracist worldview, at least to those rooted in the Rankean tradition of historiography, where documents are the unequivocal route to established, objective facts, is its mutable, post-modern nature. Fact and fiction meet and merge, with the latter being takenn over as solid, indisputable fact, to be studied and analysed by the secret initiates into the conspiratorial worldview.

Spectres Meeting in a Cemetery. Part Two.

David Sivier
Magonia 96, October 2007.

The impetus for this attack on the historicity of the Incarnation – the central tenet of mainstream Christianity – came largely from the German philosopher Lessing, who argued that no rational basis could be found for such developments, which were completely unreasonable. As a result, writers such as Ernest Renan could construct a life of Jesus, which portrayed Him as a mere human being with a case of megalomania. [1]

A Web of Flying Saucer lies and Video Footage

Nigel Watson
Magonia 96, October 2007

With the increasing popularity of such websites as YouTube, more and more UFO video clips and documentaries are being presented to the public without any critical filtering or restraint. That's great because we can all get easy access to material from the most obscure sources from anywhere in the world. The down side is that it attracts hoaxers and publicity seekers who want to manipulate and exploit the belief in UFOs.