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Your Paracast Newsletter — October 19, 2014


Gene Steinberg

Forum Super Hero
Staff member
THE PARACAST NEWSLETTER
October 19, 2014
www.theparacast.com


Science and UFO Research Explored on The Paracast

The Paracast is heard Sundays from 3:00 AM until 6:00 AM Central Time on the GCN Radio Network and affiliates around the USA, the Boost Radio Network, the IRN Internet Radio Network, and online across the globe via download and on-demand streaming.

Why You Should Donate to The Paracast: Although ads help cover a small part of our expenses, the income they produce is never enough to pay your humble hosts decent wages. Also, we do not receive any revenue from the ads placed on the show by our network or local stations. So we hope you're able to help fill the gap, if you can, to help us cover increasing server costs and other expenses -- or perhaps provide a little extra cash for lunch and utility bills. No contribution is too small (or too large :). It’s easy to send a donation. We have a Donate link on our home page, below the logo and audio player. Or use the Donatelink on our forums, at the bottom of the sidebar on the right. You can also send your PayPal donation direct to sales (at) theparacast (dot) com.

Attention U.S. Listeners: Help Us Bring The Paracast to Your City! In the summer of 2010, The Paracast joined the GCN radio network. This represented a huge step in bringing our show to a larger, mainstream audience. But we need your help to add additional affiliates to our growing network. Please ask one of your local talk stations if they are interested in carrying The Paracast. Feel free to contact us directly with the names of programming people we might be able to contact on your behalf. We can't do this alone, and if you succeed in convincing your local station to carry the show, we'll reward you with one of our special T-shirts, and other goodies. With your help, The Paracast can grow into one of the most popular paranormal shows on the planet!

Please Visit Our Online Store: You asked, and we answered. We are now taking orders for The Official Paracast T-Shirt and an expanded collection of other specially customized merchandise. To get your T-Shirt now featuring our brand new logo, just pay a visit to our online store at The Official Paracast Store to select your size and place your order. We also offer a complete lineup of other premium merchandise for your family, your friends and your business contacts.

About The Paracast: The Paracast covers a world beyond science, where UFOs, poltergeists and strange phenomena of all kinds have been reported by millions across the planet.

Set Up: The Paracast is a paranormal radio show that takes you on a journey to a world beyond science, where UFOs, poltergeists and strange phenomena of all kinds have been reported by millions. The Paracast seeks to shed light on the mysteries and complexities of our Universe and the secrets that surround us in our everyday lives.

Join long-time paranormal researcher Gene Steinberg, co-host and acclaimed field investigator Christopher O'Brien, and a panel of special guest experts and experiencers, as they explore the realms of the known and unknown. Listen each week to the great stories of the history of the paranormal field in the 20th and 21st centuries.

This Week's Episode: Gene and Chris present Ronald Regehr, who has been a UFO researcher for more than 50 years. Regehr is also a retired aerospace engineer with 36 years experience at Douglas Aircraft and Aerojet Electro Systems working in space and space surveillance systems. He is MUFON's Director of Documentation and a MUFON research specialist in space satellite technology. Two of his major areas of contribution in UFO research are satellite detection of UFOs and analysis of photos and other data associated with the Roswell case. Regehr is currently researching the Puebloan culture history and legends as recorded via their petroglyphs and pictographs.

Chris O’Brien’s Site: Our Strange Planet

Reminder: Please don't forget to visit our famous Paracast Community Forums for the latest news/views/debates on all things paranormal: The Paracast Community Forums.

The Toxic UFO Field
By Gene Steinberg

A number of years ago, I heard a certain all-night radio talk show host refer to the UFO field as “toxic.” Before I look into the worth of that statement, I should point out that the person who applied that label was none other than Art Bell, one of the pioneers of paranormal talk radio. He wasn’t the first, by the way. One of the originators, in the 1950s and 1960s, was the late Long John Nebel, who clearly influenced Bell.

It’s also fair to suggest that Bell was notorious for pandering to his listeners, presenting known fakes, and purveyors of questionable claims, as the real thing. Or just giving them a platform without asking the critical questions. When Bell briefly returned to the airwaves some time back, he brought back many of the same guests, but was off the air within weeks. He promises to return next year with an online radio show at the expiration of a non-compete clause.

Whatever you think of Bell or his all-too-public antics, I can’t deny that he’s right on when it comes to the sad state of UFO research and the UFO field in general.

Superficially, it should be about investigating a compelling mystery and seeking the truth. It certainly makes sense that people will hold different beliefs, and embrace different theories. But it’s also true that the cranks and hoaxers have come to dominate the field in ways that make it difficult for the rest.

Worse, some of the notable hoaxes may be thoroughly exposed, only to attract new followers a few years later. It surprised me, for example, to encounter people, who should know better, yet continue to believe that an early flying saucer contactee, the late George Adamski, really met humans from Venus and other planets. Forgetting the impossibility of their origins, Adamski’s photos were silly fakes easily duplicated.

In the late 1950s, my late friend Jim Moseley published a special issue of “Saucer News” magazine that went a long way to proving that Adamski’s claims were false, and that the alleged eyewitnesses really didn’t see quite what they claimed to see. This report was never refuted. It was simply ignored by the True Believers.

If you want to know more about Jim Moseley’s expose of Adamski, check this link for all the particulars, which include a scanned version of that famous issue of “Saucer News”: Saucer News presents: the George Adamski Exposé | In Honor of Jim Moseley

Over the years, other contactees have had their hats handed to them in the form of detailed and successful debunking. That claims of that infamous one-armed contactee, Billy Meier, has been subjected to very extensive analysis by a number of researchers. His most blatant fake UFO photos have been shown to be easily duplicated. Please don’t get me started about the “wedding cake” photo, which is beyond absurd.

But there are apparently a fairly large number of loyal Meier followers. You can debate them tooth and nail, and produce piles and piles of evidence to show there’s no truth to his claims, but they will not listen. They will simply misquote you or ignore you, and repeat the same stories without change. With over 200,000 messages and counting on a variety of subjects, our Paracast forums have had several long topic threads devoted to Meier. Some of his loyal fans participate, occasionally using fake names. We allow the discussion to continue to a point to allow everyone who wants to participate the opportunity to express their views. After a while, we shut it down. Enough is enough!

To the critical outsider, the most extreme UFO claims are fodder for skeptical articles and public appearances explaining why there’s nothing to the subject. It doesn’t matter that responsible people in the field dismiss the fake and outrageous claims. The stench of the cracked side of the saucer continues to infect the field.

But even if you ignore the fanciful claims, there is still far too much backbiting in this field. People who legitimately hold contrary points of view may fight in public over meaningless minutiae. It results in frayed nerves but little illumination. Nothing is ever resolved. Whatever happened to disagreeing agreeably?

I have known people who leave UFO research because they’ve had enough. I’ve been tempted, and have taken a hiatus from time to time over the years to clear my head and focus on more mundane pursuits, such as making a living and raising a family.

Almost from the first episode in 2006, The Paracast has had its intense critics. Some said we didn’t believe in UFOs, but all of the co-hosts I’ve worked with agree on basic fundamentals. There is a reality behind the presence of UFOs. It’s still premature to say it must be spaceships, although that remains a viable possibility. Regardless, we have to continue to investigate without preconceptions to find the answers.

But some of the most emotional Paracast critics ignore our skeptical approach to paranormal mysteries. Instead they focus on silly side issues that really have little to do with the subjects we explore.

So some are put off because, as with any commercial radio show in the U.S., we run a lot of commercials. In fact we do not run more than other shows, yet some single us out for following a traditional radio format. The long and short of it is that, if you don’t like the ads, fast forward. But remember that a small number of those ads (three minutes per hour of broadcast time) are our own, a potential source of income. If you don’t listen to the message, and sometimes buy the product or service, they won’t renew the ads.

Still, I respect the fact that many people don’t like ads, and we are working on getting approval from the GCN network to offer an ad-free version of The Paracast for a modest monthly subscription fee.

But some of the other criticisms are just plain foolish, sometime mean. So they might attack my broadcasting skills, or those of my co-host and friend, Chris O’Brien. They don’t like my jokes, and they assert that Chris speaks in garbled tones, or “gurgles” the stinger that ends a segment, “The Paracast.” It’s downright childish. If you don’t like the show, don’t listen. How can I make it any plainer?

Others have been stalking me online to focus on my personal financial trials over the years. It serves no point other than to allow a few people to entertain themselves at the expense of others.

Of course, such rude behavior is part and parcel of the online world, and fuels social networks and message boards. But it also turns off people who just want to learn about the world of the offbeat. It stands to reason why some have decided to go elsewhere and have real lives.

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well that was a lot of stuff to get off your chest. i think you pretty much touched all the bases on that one Sir :)
 
well as long as we are clearing the air here...

This may not be of much help but i have pretty much had the same job for about 20+ years now, i manage one of those MBE (not MIB) type shipping and packing stores in Los Angeles. I did have a few years break in between where i got my Z card and worked as a deckhand and did a few years of wildfire fighting. At any rate when i was let loose at the store and pretty much on my own one of the first things i had to deal with was customers and customer relations..possibily one of the hardest jobs to do...the point being that frequently i was on the other end of someone who had a bad day. Maybe he/she couldn't get laid, maybe they were yelled at by the boss, maybe passed over for a promotion whatever. it was apparent to me that there is no shortage of angry, bitter , insecure, petty, vindictive, helpless, frustrated, impotent individuals in this world. but i picked up pretty quickly that some people needed to make somone their bitch to make THEMSELVES feel better, misery loves company you see. I remember all too clearly when people left my store smiling to themselves because they knew they got under my skin and either got me hot, angry and flustered...just like them... or hurt, and when the owner of the location got wind of this he was angry with me for letting that happen.

All that changed. From that time on i gave as good as i could get..actually better... I wouldn't get angry, because doing so would indicate loss of self control, something that i value. Instead i got equally vicious and cutting, but usually the person just meant so little to me that i didn't give a rat's ass. I think in retrospect it comes down to the source of any criticism, if it's a person whose opinion i value and trust i take any criticism into consideration, even if it rankles. If it comes from somebody i have no attachment to or it is coming from a source who in all probability has their own baggage i either let it roll off my back or i cut twice as deep. either way i go i'm o.k. with it and i'm equally good at doing both. The toxicity that may permeate the Paranormal field is not exclusive to that field. I may even suggest that the very non-virtues (?) that make up the bulk of this toxicity could very well be taken advantage of and manipulated by the things that make up a paranormal based event. maybe we are being played as masterfully as yo-yo ma does his cello.
Cheers

I look forward to hearing this weeks show and i am waiting to hear Ron's answer(s) to my question ;) in the meantime i simply must hunt down my halloween themed forum avatar.
 
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