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The George Knapp Show!

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Decker

Decker

Administrator
Staff member
Hello Paracast Gang, I'm back with another "new" show!

Part of the reason I enjoy doing radio so much is that I've had the chance to meet some fascinating folks and I've formed some friendships that I value very much. George Knapp is one of those guys.

Over the years I have had the chance to interview George a number of times and he is a guy you should pay attention to. A "straight news guy" that "Gets It!" about the UFO subject. This interview took place in March 2007 and it was on Dark Matters Radio. George and I touched on a number of subjects that I think you will find extremely interesting. Of course he hit on the Lazar story, John Lear which are staples for George, being on the Las Vegas beat. But there were some other areas we hit.

Some names that you may not be as familar with such as Dr. Jack Sarfatti, Dan Burisch or as he is also known Dan Crain, Linda M. Howe, Dr. Ed Teller, and of course the "Skinwalker Ranch." George, an award winning television and investigative journalist gives his very unique slant on all that and more. I think you will very much enjoy this edition of DARK MATTERS RADIO!

Oh yes, one more thing ... during this show you will hear me say that this is on the BOHICA radio network. This was kind of an inside joke ... that I and my then producer came up with. We didn't use it very long but if you are wondering what it meant ... BOHICA = Bend Over Here It Comes Again!
:D :D :D

Here is a little more on the Skinwalker Ranch
Wikimedia Error

And On With The Show with Mr. George Knapp

https://www.theparacast.com/darkmatters/GeoKnapp3-1507.mp3

Decker
 
Okay, so for you all that listened to this edition of DMR, what did you think of what George had to say?

When you consider that he is not "a UFO guy, per se" but is a television journalist and well known newsman, for him to take the subject as seriously as he does MUST MEAN something. When you consider all the "talking heads" in media-land and how they routinely butcher the subject, here is the real deal. Do you think that in the scheme of things, George has made a difference? The fact that he is as well respected as he is, other than for example the type of folks that come to places like Paracast, do you think he has made any in-roads in main-stream society? Joe Six-pack and the like?

I am really interested in any thoughts.

Decker
 
I havent had time to listen to this show yet (its on my ipod ready to go), but I have heard a few Knapp interviews on the Paracast.

I always found his interest in the subject as a very good thing for the field. He truly is a main stream news guy with a genuine interest in the UFO phenomenon, and he even takes is super seriously. His involvement and support of the Lazar situation also has always fascinated me too.
 
I think the fact that Knapp is in the mainstream has made a difference, Decker. The guy has without a doubt brought UFO issues into the living room without doing it in a tongue-in-cheek fashion and without looking like a nutjob in the process. I guess you might be able to fault him for his associations with Lear and his bunch, but as Knapp said in both the interview with you and the interview with Gene and David, Lear had connections. That counts for something. He was willing to point that out those shortcomings and I appreciate that....as I definitely appreciate you posting these shows. Great stuff--and keep them coming.
 
Thanks for posting that interview, and providing the link here, Don. It's always interesting to hear what George has to say. He is indeed a very rare mainstream journalist willing to report on the UFO field as he does any other story. We need more like him.

I was surprised at some of the things he said about Lazar and Lear. I'm starting to think there is more to the Lazar story than just a nutcase out to gain some dough and have a good time. It's a bit disconcerting, though, to hear Knapp lambaste Burisch for lying about his education and past employment (rightly so!) while in the same interview glossing over the same behavior from Lazar. When it comes to made-up education and history, I don't see Burisch's bullshit as any worse, or even much different, than Lazar's. As for Lear, whatever he may have "brought to the party" in the past (highly questionable imho), it does not take much looking over at OMF to see that he is currently just another batshit crazy believer.

I liked the Skinwalker book, and don't buy the criticism that it should have been a scholarly work with dozens of references and so on. I understand the disappointment some have with this, and I'd like to have the other information myself, but the book is very good at being what it was meant to be: a mass market overview of what has taken place on the ranch. It's easy to think up several reasons why the book was done that way, all the way from the cost of the bibliography, footnotes, and so on versus the sales that would be killed by it, to contractual obligations, to the ongoing research that would necessitate excluding some references, rendering it incomplete as a scholarly work. The list goes on. The book is a fine read, and should be judged for what it is.
 
Double Nought Spy said:
I was surprised at some of the things he said about Lazar and Lear. I'm starting to think there is more to the Lazar story than just a nutcase out to gain some dough and have a good time. It's a bit disconcerting, though, to hear Knapp lambaste Burisch for lying about his education and past employment (rightly so!) while in the same interview glossing over the same behavior from Lazar. When it comes to made-up education and history, I don't see Burisch's bullshit as any worse, or even much different, than Lazar's.
Click to expand...

The difference is, while there are some gaps in Lazar's story regarding his education, he also has some aspects of his story that are able to be confirmed. Not to mention a bunch of other people with similar stories and a considerable amount of smoke (indicating a possible fire) with stuff like the recommendation of Lazar for his job at S4 by Edward Teller.

Not saying I think Lazar is should be absolutely believed, he has a lot more going for him than Burisch. Burisch is basically a guy who fabricates this whole bullshit world around himself and honestly, his story about an alien named J-Rod is ridiculous.

This is my favourite example of Dan Burisch bullshit... he claims this was taken off a security camera and he didnt know he was being filmed. It shows him talking about his usual nonsense, and according to Burisch the fact that he "didn't know" he was on camera, yet still kept up the story, proves everything.


Its so obviously a setup. That's obvious from his absolutely shit acting, not to mention the fact that that camera is OBVIOUSLY not a security cam, and why wouldn't he know about? Its aimed right at him in his office!
 
Of course there are differences, and Burisch is definitely the bigger flake (falsely claiming military service is right down there with selling nonexistent puppies on the net), but what I was commenting on were the striking similarities in the lies about education. Both of these guys claim to have gotten advanced degrees from places they did not and could not plausibly have attended at the time they claimed to. There are huge, gaping holes in Lazar's story. Google Tim Mahood's Lazar timeline for an interesting article. Not only did Lazar's paper trail not get erased, it's there for all to see in lurid detail.

Someone like George Knapp saying there were some very curious corroborations in the Lazar story makes it interesting from a disinfo angle. No matter what it started out to be, it has been a debunker's dream.
 
Double Nought Spy said:
Of course there are differences, and Burisch is definitely the bigger flake (falsely claiming military service is right down there with selling nonexistent puppies on the net), but what I was commenting on were the striking similarities in the lies about education. Both of these guys claim to have gotten advanced degrees from places they did not and could not plausibly have attended at the time they claimed to. There are huge, gaping holes in Lazar's story. Google Tim Mahood's Lazar timeline for an interesting article. Not only did Lazar's paper trail not get erased, it's there for all to see in lurid detail.

Someone like George Knapp saying there were some very curious corroborations in the Lazar story makes it interesting from a disinfo angle. No matter what it started out to be, it has been a debunker's dream.
Click to expand...

Lazar is a complete enigma to me. For this reason, he's someone I would have to meet in person to get a better idea on what he's like but to watch him in a video giving an interview, he comes across as not only very intelligent but very credible too.

Because he seems so intelligent, he would most definitely had to have known that anyone could have done a background check on him to verify the information he was giving us on his educational background. So it boggles the mind to find out that he lied about all of that and came up with some cocklemanny story about his paper trail being erased like that. The only thing I can think of is that he obviously has a very low opinion on the overall intelligence of the UFO community or.... he's a disinformation agent. I think it's the second one -- in fact, this seems fairly obvious to me. With this one, it's all about following the logic of what he's been telling us -- and once one does that, it SCREAMS disinfo.
 
I don't understand Lazar either. Although I appreciate what Knapp is saying, there are lots of holes in his story that go far beyond his fictional education. See: http://www.dreamlandresort.com/area51/lazar/index.htm and look especially at this page: http://www.dreamlandresort.com/area51/lazar/critiq.htm for an analyses of his physics. Knapp says one point going for him is that Lazar's story hasn't changed, where other's have and that he doesn't want anything to do with the UFO field.

I don't think those are positives. Half his story is demonstrably BS. That he hasn't changed this BS does not make it non-BS. His not wanting to have anything to do with Ufology is true now, but not when he first came out when he talked at length about his story. It was just that his BS was found out and rather than continually take it on the chin, he retreated.

The best thing for him to do, and it is what I would say to him if I met him, was for him to come clean on the BS part of his story and tell it like it really happened. THAT would be a fascinating story in itself. If he ever did that, wrote 'The Bob Lazar Story; an autobiography' I guarantee it would be a sensation.
 
Thanks for those links... will look them over as soon as I get back from a errand. I was just googling up Lazar to review information on him again but there's so much out there on the net about him, it's very difficult for a neophyte like me know which ones are giving the correct information on him. I trust you so thanks again for those links..
As for Knapp's comments about how Lazar's story has remained the same all these years and so on.... I totally agree with you that BS is BS no matter if the story has changed or if it's remained the same. Jeesh!
 
I'm sure Lazar did work at Area 51, in fact he may well have worked on some sort of propulsion, but I dont think he had anything to do with UFO's. He might have just been a bog standard mechanic
 
Here is a W-2 which is the only 'proof' ever found that Lazar had any ties to the military. It's curious at several levels. First, it doesn't actually tie to Area 51. Second, it is for a very small amount, even at wages 20 years ago, and could not reflect more that a few days work. Third, it could be fake.

My hypotheses (and it is only that) is at Lazar DID get a job as a technician at Area-51, but he could not pass the security clearance and was terminated. I don't present that as proven or truth, but as a possibility. His verifiable community college electronics courses could qualify him as a technician, and with Teller's recommendation, could have gotten him in the door.

I have worked 'in the field' and had a Secret clearance. What they will normally do is let you work at nominal duties while they are processing a security clearance. The clearance usually takes several months. They give you a quick run through, and if they find something bad, out you go. If not, you stay until the process is completed and you are granted a clearance.

My guess is they found something bad and let him go pretty quickly. Obviously, he would never have had a chance to gaze on super secret stuff while he was there awaiting a clearance.

In the interests of completelness, the EIN listed on the form has been denied by the government as ever having been assigned to Naval Intelligence. A fairly good overview of the controversy is here: http://www.stealthskater.com/Documents/Lazar_15.doc. Also, there is a minor problem in that there is no such agency and hasn't been since WW II. Not that there is no Naval Intelligence agency. It's just that it does not carry that name. There is a Naval Intelligence Command, the NIC, and that is normally how it would be structured. Major Navy departments are called Commands. There is also a Naval Investigative Service (NIS), who are the people who would be investigating clearances. So the W-2 is not without its problems, and it raises more questions than it answers.

W2_Lazar.jpg
 
I just found out a couple of interesting facts about this W-2. It lists Lazar's address as 1029 James Lovell St., Las Vegas, NV 89128. So I called it up on Google Earth and found the house. Only problem is its zip code is 89145, not 89128.

Well, that was 20 years ago. Could the zip code have been changed or merged? Doesn't look like it. The 89128 zip code is also alive and well, and several miles from the first location in a different area of town.

Here's a link to let you easily see how far apart those two zips are. Type in both zips and zoom out so you can see them both at once. http://www.usnaviguide.com/zip.htm.

FURTHER edit. I have found some evidence of a zip code split in Las Vegas that may account for this discrepancy, but the split seems to have gone in the opposite direction. Checking...

Could it have been a 'mistake'? Sure, but we now have several:

1. The EIN is claimed to have never been issued.

2. The name of the agency is wrong and non-existant.

3. The zip code is completely wrong.

4. There's nothing under 'social security wages' and there should be, the same amount as under wages in this case.*

* I suppose I need to explain that. In some jobs, typically government, that have a pension plan, both the employee and the employer pay into the plan every pay period. With some plans, the employee's contribution is taken out pre-tax so that the employee does NOT pay taxes on the contribution to the pension until he gets it back after retirement when he typically would be making less and be in a lower tax bracket. It's like an old style (pre-Roath) IRA.

However, for social security purposes, both for the employee contribution and the total wages, the listed amount would be the full wages. So the 'wages box' (Number 10) would be the total wages MINUS the pension contribution. The social secuity wages box (number 13) would be the full amount.

In Lazar's case, with only a small amount of wages in the first place and no pension, BOTH boxes 10 and 13 would have the SAME amount: 958.11. Box 13 is blank. What's up with that?
 
Thanks for rounding up all that research Schuyler. Listening to Knapp talk about Lazar it's easy to forget that the whole situation is just a tad more complicated than he sometimes makes it seem.
 
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