From: mcgrath@cs.uiuc.edu (Robert McGrath)
Subject: Re: UFO - area 51...
Reply-To: mcgrath@cs.uiuc.edu
Organization: University of Illinois, Dept of Computer Science
Date: Wed, 7 Oct 1992 17:55:43 GMT

In article <1992Oct7.020329.7807@omrongw.wg.omron.co.jp>, tnishi@kansas.Berkeley.EDU (NISHIYAMA Tetsuto) writes in part:
|> 	No, why you say that its fantasy or fabrication.  You say it and
|> you're always asking for source but you don't produce any yourself.  Now
|> it COULD be fantasy or fabrication and I'm sure that a good number of them
|> are...I'm not arguing with your statements, but I question the way you
|> respond by "refuting" these claims without producing any sources yourself,
|> which you seem to have since you "read the reports"...out of curiosity,
|> do any reports exist by psychiatrists or hypnotists who have seen/studied
|> people who make these claims?  That could be one good source by a
|> professional in the psychological department.

What? You mean I ahve to back up my claims? :-)

See for instance, "Alien Abductions--A Dangerous Game" (Prometheus Books, 1991) 
by Phillip J.  Klass for a discussion of the "alien abduction" phenomenon 
and exposee of some of the outrageous b***s promulgating these things.

|> 	Ok, I agree with you here.  Tabloid trash is just that...trash.
|> This show though was not exactly tabloid...more of a documentary...the
|> show did not claim that the reports were true.  
A "documentary" is something that claims to be true.  Tabloid style is
to look like a documentary but not claim it is true.  I am definitely
and umabiguously saying that the claims of that program (from your
description of them) are just plain fiction.

|> They came up with no answers...just more questions, like why is the U.S.
|> military base in PR so secretive about the blimp if it is only used as
|> a means to track down drug smugglers as they claim?  Why is there an
|> area that is nothing but forest off limits from both ground and air if
|> they weren't hiding something?  
There are meany possibilities.  Areas near operational bases are sometimes
kept clear to keep people away from sensative areas--nuclear weapons
storage, secret communications or intelligence gear, air or naval operations.
This is "hiding something", and they sure aren't going to say what.
Perfectly normal military behavior.

|> What exactly is the object that the
|> fishermen claim to have seen?  
No idea.  I have no reason to believe the incident even happenned.

|> Are the "aliens" that some people claim
|> to have seen actually just a rare species of animal that exists in the
|> area?  
Huh?  I don't know who says they've see what.  Its a bit of a leap to
hypothesize either aliens or rare species.

|> Why do some documents (supposedly written by military/gov't 
|> officials) mention "...contact with the aliens..." or is it just a hoax?  
|> etc. etc...no answers or proof, just more questions.
What documents?  "Supposedly" is the operational word here.  Most of
these claims are just flat out false.

|> 	Like I said, next time I see it, I'll mark down where this
|> base labeled as "area 51" is located.  I'll try and find out the name
|> of the researcher/UFO-ologist(?), etc...it could prove to be intersting.
Yes.  The name of the guy making the claims will be of great use to
me.  Many of these guys are old familiar names, whose claims have been
shown to be totally false.  This never stops them from making yet more
TV shows, though.

-- 
  Robert E. McGrath
  Urbana Illinois
  mcgrath@cs.uiuc.edu
Newsgroups: alt.paranormal