90 lines
4.3 KiB
Plaintext
90 lines
4.3 KiB
Plaintext
SUBJECT: FARMER'S TALES OF SPACE TRAVEL FILE: UFO72
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PART 2
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He also said he had photographed and filmed UFOs that
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resembled hub-caps; tape-recorded their noises, which resembled
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sound effects from old science-fiction films; conversed with
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female UFOnauts, who taught him cosmic truths; flew aboard a
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UFO into space, where he photographed God's "eye" and the
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Apollo-Soyuz docking of 1975; and traveled by saucer into the
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future, where he saw the ruins of San Francisco after an
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earthquake.
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But Meier's "evidence" dissolved under scrutiny,
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ufologists say. Ufologist Spaulding used a computer to clarify
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blurry details in Meier's photos and, he said, detected threads
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holding the "UFOs" aloft - evidence that they were small models
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suspended near the camera. Also, critics said, the photos of
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quake-ravaged San Francisco turned out to be copies of an
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artist's rendering from the September 1977 issue of Geo
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magazine. And in Meier's 8mm movies of UFOs, the objects sway
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back and forth as though they were lightweight models bobbing in
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the breeze.
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Yet the Meier story has survived partly because of the
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relentless advocacy of his American backers, the Arizona
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ufologists Lt. Col. Wendelle Stevens (US Air Force, retired),
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Tom Welch and Lee and Brit Elders. Years ago, they obtained the
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legal rights to market Meier's photos and other memorabilia,
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threatened to sue anyone who used the material without permis-
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sion and built a small publishing industry, Genesis III. The
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publishing arm sells books and videocassettes (for as much
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as $29 apiece) about Meier's adventures.
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Now they've landed a much bigger fish: royalties from
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Kinder's 206-page book, published May 26th. They're sharing
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royalties in return forgiving Kinder access to Meier's photos and
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other documents.
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Much money may be made by all: Kinder will take 50
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percent of the royalties, then the rest will be divided
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among Meier, Stevens, the Elderses and Welch.
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Sales have gone "extremely well," Kinder said. The best-
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seller list is in sight, said the book's backer, New York
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publishing whiz-kid Morgan Entrekin, who paid Kinder an advance
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of more than $100,000. Bay Area bookstore owners say its selling
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moderately.
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The book has infuriated many ufologists who think it lends
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an undeserved patina of respectability to a vulgar hoax,
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although Kinder doesn't reach a specific conclusion about
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Meier's claims. "Face it, you're in it for the money like the
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rest of the writers of superficial paranormal literature,"
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Spaulding said in a bitter letter to Kinder.
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"It's been a real ordeal trying to fend off the entire UFO
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community," joked Kinder, 40. "There were times when I would
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look at Meier and think, `He's nothing but a clever con man.'
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There were other times would I would look at Meier and think,
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`Here is a sincere and warm individual who has experienced
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something far above his understanding and intellectual capabilities
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and is trying to deal with it.'"
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The Elderses say they've received threatening letters
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and phone calls and that Meier has been the target of
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several assassination attempts. They're not disturbed by
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evidence that Meier faked photos of, for example, the San
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Francisco earthquake; in fact, they haven't even discussed it
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with Meier, Lee Elders said. His wife insists that just because
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Meier faked "one or two things" doesn't mean all his photos are
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phony.
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To Lee Elders, the best evidence for Meier's contentions is
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an analysis of metal samples from an alleged UFO. The analysis
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was conducted by Marcel Vogel, formerly a chemist at an IBM
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research center in San Jose. In the New York Times Book Review,
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a full page ad for "Light Years" quotes Vogel as saying the
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metallic composition was one "we could not achieve...on this
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planet."
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However, the book doesn't mention that Vogel is a very, very
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imaginative fellow. In fact, he also has claimed the ability to
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communicate psychically with plants.
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End of part 2
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**********************************************
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* THE U.F.O. BBS - http://www.ufobbs.com/ufo *
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********************************************** |