He's Back! — Alejandro Rojas! Questions Fans!

[Gene Steinberg]

He's back for another go-round. Open Mind's Alejandro Rojas. He'll be talking about the latest developments in UFO research, including Slidegate and the recent Contact in the Desert event.

Co-host of the popular webcast Spacing Out, Alejandro is Director of Operations for Open Minds Production, the host for Open Minds UFO Radio, editor and contributing writer for OpenMinds.tv, and emcee for the International UFO Congress. He is also a blogger for the Huffington Post.

He's one busy gentleman.

We'll be recording this episode Thursday June 4 at 11 AM Arizona time.

Ahead of this session, Alejandro tells me: "I have a feeling you guys are going to get me in trouble." Let's see if he's right.

 

[Angel of Ioren]

Hi,

What do you think of researchers that say they have definitive evidence, and when they show it it ends up being underwhelming, like the Roswell Slides? Do you think we'll ever have something more than a blurry image or shaky video? I'm obsessed with the fact that with all these great cameras out there not one great clear picture or video of a UFO has surfaced. In the last 10 years, I've gone from being certain that UFOs were something special to now thinking that there's nothing to them other than natural terrestrial phenomena or mis-identification of something normal. Recearchers with lofty claims with nothing to back them up has helped me to come to this conclusion.

What are your thoughts on how these Roswell slides can create such a mess? Do you think people want to believe so badly that there's something to Roswell that they will believe that a deformed human mummy is an alien?

Do you ever think we'll get definitive proof that UFOs are more than just misidentified objects in the sky?

Thanks!

 

[cosmonaut]

Alejandro
Do you believe that any of the classic 1950s contactee cases are legitimate?
What about all the Wendelle Stevens : UFO Contact from ....series of books?

Also, a major omission from UFO research seems to be that all the information
comes from countries that are allies of the United States. Why haven't we
developed a major contact inside Russia, for example?

 

[Bluto392]

Is there any indication that Edward Snowden has any information on extra- or crypto- terrestrials, or on any significant conspiracy theory?

 

[technomage]

1. What's the best case in the last 5-10 years that we should be paying attention to?
2. (Question for anyone): In Operation: Trojan Horse, John Keel brings up a lot of statistics (e.g. majority of UFO events occur on Wednesday or Sunday). Has anyone verified his data because if the data he describes in the book is valid, his conclusions can be taken that much more seriously.

 

[Burnt State]

1. (Question for anyone): In Operation: Trojan Horse, John Keel brings up a lot of statistics (e.g. majority of UFO events occur on Wednesday or Sunday). Has anyone verified his data because if the data he describes in the book is valid, his conclusions can be taken that much more seriously.

In Chris Rutkowski's annual Canadian UFO report he provides very detailed breakdowns of collected and thoroughly filtered data that includes issues of frequency. I would think his team's efforts to be substantially more rigorous than Keel's plottings.

Both of these charts are from the 2013 survey report.
The Canadian UFO Survey

 

[Creepy Green Light]

Do you agree that whatever Lonnie Zamora saw that day in Socorro, NM was NOT a flying saucer but some other type of secret craft manufactured here on earth, unbeknownst to him (say like a secret craft designed for the moon by Hughes - the Hughes Connecting Devices logo looks remarkably like the symbol Lonnie said he saw on the craft)?

 

[Sub-light]

Do you see any benefit from the UFO community coming together to develop a more streamlined , unified theory or set of theories to explain the phenomenon?
The reason I ask this, is that there seem to be several types of events that don't seem to be related and yet they are jumbled into one thing "UFOs". I've never understood how a flying disc in late 40s early 50s has anything to do with weird events in places like Skinwalker Ranch or or the kinds of things that took place in Rendlesham Forest.

 

[Travelling Spirit]

Is there any indication that Edward Snowden has any information on extra- or crypto- terrestrials, or on any significant conspiracy theory?

Heard a major revelation that is supposed to dwarf previous ones is coming up. I too wonder if it could have something to do with UFOs/Paranormal, or anything space related. Alejandro might also only be able to speculate.

 

[Sentry]

Dang! Sorry I missed getting a question in, but I'll be tuning in.
I've been in touch with Alejandro a bit, and he's dug deep into the Slides saga, one of the few reporting on it to personally verify the deblurring of the placard. Also, he's managed to get in touch with the now-reclusive Adam Dew.

My impression was that although AR is pro-ET, he wants truthful information.

 

[Burnt State]

My impression was that although AR is pro-ET, he wants truthful information.

An interesting turn of phrase, Curt. Are you suggesting the pro-ET crowd is somehow prone to seeking out less than truth? Sheesh

 

[Sentry]

An interesting turn of phrase, Curt. Are you suggesting the pro-ET crowd is somehow prone to seeking out less than truth? Sheesh

That's not quite what I meant. What I was trying to say was that many people (of all persuasions) are blinded by confirmation bias and only respond favorably to data that doesn't challenge their beliefs. Many of these people don't understand that those who disagree with us are not necessarily enemies.

Sometimes, we can learn from them, and if nothing else, if our beliefs or positions stand up after being challenged, maybe it's stronger for it.

 

[Burnt State]

That's not quite what I meant. What I was trying to say was that many people (of all persuasions) are blinded by confirmation bias and only respond favorably to data that doesn't challenge their beliefs. Many of these people don't understand that those who disagree with us are not necessarily enemies.

Sometimes, we can learn from them, and if nothing else, if our beliefs or positions stand up after being challenged, maybe it's stronger for it.

Well said. The most exciting moment in any process, be it a conversation, idea exchange, an act of discovery, while teaching and learning or sharing a journey, is the moment of challenge. Where there is conflict or tension there is the opportunity for new ideas to be born, for something not considered by either party that could change the entire complexion of previously held beliefs. Being open to such processes is the sign of a healthy explorer.

When one is married to their beliefs or bring too much emotional attachment to ideas held in iron grips it is very hard to learn new ideas or accept that which one thought was absolute truth is actually a misstep, or only the beginning of an answer. When talking about the "answer" to UFO's Greg Bishop calls this the "disease of truth."

Ufology is such an open ended process that historically has been always fought on different oppositional battle lines: believer vs. skeptic, pro-eth and anti, Roswellians and the critics etc.. The most exciting developments have always come from people who don't stress truth so much as doubt, and who are open to changing positions because of their doubtful and open minded approach. They use the word, "perhaps" a lot.

 

[Han]

I have only just read this otherwise I would have asked you to ask before:

Do you think that schmidt and carey etc were influenced by the alleged discovery of a: second crash site and bodies at Roswell by an anthropologist called Curry Holden (William):

"Curry Holden, an anthropologist from Texas Tech, claimed a student archaeological expedition he led had actually come upon the crashed flying saucer and the bodies of its extraterrestrial crew. Holden’s wife and daughter, however, insisted that he had never told them of such an event; neither was there any corroboration in his personal papers. Holden was ninety-six when he provided his account to UFOlogist Kevin Randle,"*

and

"Back to Holden himself and in a totally other vein, according to Roswell Incident: Updated, as well as such sources as UFO investigator Thomas J. Carey, on Saturday, July 5, 1947, Holden and some students who were working sites and looking for signs of pre-Contact Indian occupation around Roswell stumbled across the second of the infamous Roswell impact sites where some sort of an object had crashed. It has been said they are the ones who first reported to law enforcement officials the discovery of what they thought was the remains of a wrecked aircraft. Military personnel reportedly had arrived at the crash site that night and cordoned off access to the crash scene. Holden and his students were immediately escorted them out of the area. Holden never really discussed the incident and it was well into his later years before he was actually even inteviewed on the subject."**


I wonder why I have not heard this "connection" before, but maybe I just didn't see it written about.


To my mind it has to have had an influence on how they viewed the Mummy, but I don't know for sure, it just would make a little more sense as why they interpreted what they saw as extraordinary.







*source: The Roswellian Syndrome: How Some UFO Myths Develop - CSI

** W. Curry Holden