As a friend of mine told me recently, "The plural of 'anecdote' is not 'data.'" Well, here's the data. I have just spent way too much time going through the 491 posts that mention Bill Birnes, back to August of 2006 (Note: The Paracast started in February of that year.) I pulled out every single post by Gene and David. (Note #2: If the word 'Birnes' were not in the post I may have missed something.)
Of these 491 posts, many have been starkly critical of Birnes and called him names. There is even a thread titled "Is Bill Birnes an idiot?", but these were USER COMMENTS, not those made by Gene or David. (Note #3: I may have made some transcription errors here, for which I take full responsibility.) You will note that by far the majority of comments are laudatory of Birnes, though there are some classic 'David reactions.' After reading through all these, I don't think a fair minded person could come to the conclusion that Birnes was EVER called a 'fraud' by eiher one of our hosts. But judge for yerself 'cause here they are, ALL of them!
8/31/06 Gene: Folks, it's a miracle these days that a magazine can last three or five years, let alone 20. But UFO Magazine has managed that achievement, and in honor of the occasion, we'll be talking with the key members of the publication's team. These include Bill and Nancy Birnes and Don and Vicki Ecker.
Just how has UFO research changed and/or progressed over the years. You'll hear all about it on this episode.
8/31/06 Gene: (responding to a ? on UFO Magazine) Well, the magazine was started 20 years ago, but Bill and Nancy Birnes didn't get involved until the 90s.
9/26/06 Gene: We have a fascinating session coming for October 1, 2006.
UFO Magazine publisher Bill Birnes talks about the late Long John Nebel, recognized as the creator of paranormal radio, the strange case of Candy Jones and government conspiracies in general. You'll also meet Brian Haughton, Webmaster for Mysterious People, a site devoted to people with strange powers and experiences.
10/17/06 Gene: November 12, 2006: Explore ancient mysteries with Paul Von Ward, author of "Gods, Genes, and Consciousness" and "Our Solarian Legacy." This will be a fascinating journey into our historic origins and how they led to present-day encounters with "Advanced Beings."
Also featured on this episode will be UFO Magazine publisher William J. Birnes, co-author of "Worker in the Light," who will discuss the book he co-authored with talk show host George Noory.
8/8/07 Gene: You know, I've long been bothered by the Corso issue. First and foremost, here was a man with a stellar military record, so he wouldn't seem to have a motive to write a fictional account of his experiences during his golden years and pass them off as fact.
At the same time, there were surely questions that you could legitimately raise about "The Day After Roswell," but you could charitably blame that on the fact that several hands had worked on the manuscript before Bill Birnes got involved as co-author.
Corso was interviewed for the documentary, "Out of the Blue," and since we have one of that film's producers, James Fox, on tap for our August 19th episode, we did ask him to provide his own insights into his encounters with Corso. That's something you won't want to miss
8/19/07 Gene: Here's something I posted in this week's newsletter that I wanted to open up for discussion here:
I have long been on the fence about the case of the late Philip J. Corso," lead author of the controversial book, "The Day After Roswell." If Corso is to be believed, he was one of the key people responsible for delivering parcels of alien technology to private industry several decades ago. Further, that the technology used in such devices as today's personal computers were, in part, based on techniques reversed engineered from the wreckage of a space ship that purportedly crashed in the New Mexico desert 60 years ago.
Thanks in large part to the efforts of co-author William Birnes, Corso's book is eminently readable and seems quite credible. But some key elements of the UFO community don't take it seriously, saying that there are factual lapses that give one reason to dismiss Corso's claims as fanciful.
I've been reluctant to reach that conclusion, in part because Corso was a highly-decorated military figure who never had a history of writing science fiction or making suspicious claims. Why, towards the end of his days, would he fabricate a tale of this sort, in light of his stellar military record? Just to earn some cash for his family to inherit after his death? That doesn't seem enough cause to lie, particularly when you consider his history and achievements.
Could it be that the faults in Corso's book were more the result of the manuscript having a few too many cooks before William Birnes got involved in the project? I honestly don't know, and I began to wonder even further when I watched James Fox' excellent UFO documentary, "Out of the Blue," recently. Corso appears in just a few short segments, but it's enough to come away with the impression that he was a straight shooter, a totally honest reporter of genuine experiences.
10/09/07 Gene: (Responding to Birnes' ad criticism) Maybe they feel that anyone who can figure out the ordering scheme deserves the discount
10/09/07 Gene: (Responding to someone wanting to pull heir hair out) Then you'd look like Bill Birnes.
1/11/08 Gene: (Responding to a claim Birnes ad takes 20 minutes) About 2 minutes, but I'll talk to Bill Birnes and see if we can reduce this to something more manageable, OK?
1/22/08 Gene: (responding to a query about Hunters) Actually a TV series, I think.
1/25/08 Gene: (responding to criticism of Birne's long ad Birne's long ad) So you see, the spot works
1/25/08 Gene: (Ditto) Next time I speak with him, we'll try to update the spots
1/25/08 Gene: (ditto) Yes it is about 30 seconds longer. Maybe he got carried away a bit. Bit when we talk to him again, I'll urge him to be more concise.
1/30/08 David: It's so damned weird - two shows, same name, both taking the same approach, does anyone think they're gonna capture a UFO on tape? It's fascinating that the networks feel that there's a demand for this type of programming - bodes well for us, where's OUR show?!? - but I'm not sure that there's enough audience to merit dueling shows. We'll see how this pans out, and hopefully, we'll have Bill Birnes on the Paracast soon to give us the inside scoop on the situation.
2/10/08 David: I just got off the phone with the person putting together a UFO event next weekend in Atlantic City. There are some interesting speakers - Bill Birnes will be there, as well as Richard Dolan - and some others who I'd love to give a bit of a hard time. I suppose I'll have to head down there and make some trouble.
Any Paracast listeners in the area? Wanna go have some fun?
3/21/08 David: I finally got a chance to watch the latest episode...
For chrissakes.
To even entertain the notion that the Drone "photos" are anything but CG renders is just ridiculous, and I'm surprised that Macabbee didn't make the call right away. The first guy they speak to - Schussler, I think, an ex-NASA guy - was fascinating, but Uskert makes a bit of an ass of himself asking WHERE ARE THE UFOs, it was painful to watch. And then they huddle with none other than Ralph Ring, who is just a joke. Yeah, he was in the ship, it lit up, and lo and behold, Carr tells him that they they didn't notice that they had traveled for miles, but look, there's dirt in your pocket, you just don't remember picking it up because your brain was disconnected. Well, that last item is 100%. Otis T. Carr may have hung out with Tesla towards the end of his life (though there is no proof of it, as far as I know, and Carr seemed to be perfectly willing to lie at the drop of hat), but I promise you that Tesla didn't teach him anything that would lead to the "vibrational" spaceship. What a load of B.S. When Ring was on the ATS Mix show, he told those guys all about how Carr said that Tesla was a very humble man. ANYONE who has studied anything about Tesla knows that the idea that he was humble - in any way - is just flat-out nonsense. At least they state on the show that Ring is NOT a scientist. No s h i t, Sherlock. He's no engineer, either.
And then, instead of just asking me if the "drone" images were CG, they go to some guy I've never heard of, who dispenses the wisdom that we all knew over a year ago. And that Acworth dude may be a scientist, but let me tell you, he knows squat about imaging and CG. The photo analist dude plops a simple geometry on a background plate, and Acworth proclaims that it LOOKS REAL. Jesus R. ChickenCheese.
I'll leave the end experiment alone, to verify nonsense from the Car Ring is just beyond the pale. I won't go into all of the deep problems with the "experiment", and how it proves JACK S H I T.
Birnes proclaims that the Roswell crash was not a disk, but is a crescent ship? Bill, where did THAT come from? Next time he comes on the show, I'm gonna spank him for that little nugget, and for this episode overall. It was just terrible.
7/18/08 Gene: (Referring to Larry King, not Birnes) He's the same no matter what topic he handles. Doing the show is "way out of the loop" for him.
7/22/08 Gene: I go back and forth on the Corso affair. The clips I saw of him show a straight-ahead military man, a person who would not be inclined to make up stories. Birnes also said the book had gone through other hands before he got the manuscript and that Corso was rushed to finish up and yet quite ill during the editorial process. So make of that what you will.
7/25/08 Gene: If I understand what Birnes has said of late, someone published material for which he and/or the family had the rights, without permission. So he'd be justified in doing that. Birnes has a law degree and surely understands this stuff. And his close association with Hollywood has given him some insights into intellectual property concerns, and probably made him quite sensitive to the issue.
Maybe I'm cutting Birnes too much slack here, but he's never been dishonest with me in any way, and I've talked with him a lot on and off the air. I may not agree with everything he does, of course, but that's not the issue here.
Disclaimer: I recently taped a "pseudo-interview" with Birnes for the History Channel "UFO Hunters" show. I have no idea if it'll ever be aired, even in part, but I expect to have the audio tape and we might air some of the comments on a future episode. He actually made some fascinating remarks about the government's alleged involvement in secret weapons and/or aircraft based on possible alien technology.
7/25/08 Gene: Part of Stan's problems with Corso are the clear errors in the book. Birnes has explained how and why they came to be, and takes responsibility for them. The book was being edited during a period when Corso was, to be blunt, dying, and thus wasn't able to give the matter careful attention.
Would that the book could have been done a few years earlier. Then these controversies would not come into play quite as readily
8/12/08 Gene: (Responding to a positive Birnes report) Ah yes, William Birnes of the UFO Hunters TV show and UFO Magazine.
11/11/08 Gene: Corso died not long after the book came out, so we only have Birnes to defend him. That is both good and bad. Certainly, Birnes is a vigorous proponent of Corso's claims, but he is also a story-teller, and sometimes you wonder if the two don't converge a little too closely.
11/11/08 Gene: I know some of you would prefer we hit Birnes harder in these interviews, but you can easily get lost in the stories, which are so fascinating. He does indeed have an encyclopedic knowledge of a lot of subjects. He has one or more PHDs too, so he's a real expert on lots of stuff, including the law, though I don't know if he's passed the bar yet.
I did a 20-minute taped segment with Birnes a few months ago, as recorded by the "UFO Hunters" crew, and, if I get a copy, we'll play it on a future episode. He said some fascinating things there too -- but it doesn't hurt to be more than a little skeptical about such matters.
11/11/08 Gene: I like Birnes and my conversations with him, even the private ones, are almost always fascinating. Yes, I think he has a pretty good concept of reality. And I have no problem with him hawking his TV show, magazine and books. It's hard enough to make a living nowadays.
11/15/08 David: Deejay,
- I hung up because I was deeply annoyed by the whole Lear thing. I tend to very much like Birnes, and normally like having him on the show, but my fuse was quite short that night.
- I hope you're not implying that I do not know the difference between a transistor and an IC.
- Someone has to do the nasty job of outing charlatans. I've done this in the computer graphics world for years, and we do in on The Paracast. It's a dirty job, by someone has got to do it.
- Thanks for your extensive comments, we appreciate the feedback. Really.
11/17/08 David (on telling people to NOT rag on Birnes) Everyone chill the fuck out, please.
I could certainly argue that I am indeed clueless, for continuing to do this show.
So you'll all right, OK? I'm a moron, I'm a genius, I can't defend myself, I can defend myself.
Just kill me now, please.
11/18/08 David (On who to have as a guest host) You know, I think either of them would indeed do a great job. I know Jeff has been swamped lately, but it's just about time to do a campfire chat. Guest suggestions, please. I vote for Dolan, Jeremy, Jeff (if available), Birnes, Leslie Kean, Gene & me. Thoughts?
2/24/09 Gene: (On posting info) It's a great idea, but only a few of our guests have the time or inclination to actually participate in a forum. You've seen rare responses here from the likes of Bill Birnes of UFO Magazine and UFO Hunters, Scott Corrales, Robert Hastings, Frank Warren and a handful of others. But, in general, it's really not going to happen on a grand scale. Sorry folks.
3/01/09 David: Birnes made sure to get that psycho Lear on his show because I hung up on him when he brought up Lear during that episode of the Paracast last year.
Having Lear on pretty much tells you where that show's credibility is, eh?
3/26/09 David: Having Lear on the show proves that they don't care about accuracy, truth or objectivity. Lear is absolutely FOS, IMO, and Birnes does a disservice to the field by giving him a platform. Not to toot my own horn, but every time I see or speak to Birnes, he mentions that he wants me on the show as an image analyst, but it's never panned out. And you want to know why? Because I'll actually bring some objectivity and useful analysis to the process, which is the exact opposite of what they're looking for, and that it crystal clear - to me, at least - that they are nothing more than entertainment for the masses. Birnes is as crazy as a fox, this is all about money and recognition for him, nothing more.
4/2/09 Gene: Exactly. I really remain on the fence about the whole Corso episode. Whatever you think about Bill Birnes and his support of Corso, he has been totally consistent on that issue.
4/4/09 David: I'll let Gene pipe in here, apparently Birnes called him and gave him a hard time about some of the material about him on these forums. Gene?
4/4/09 Gene: He said he felt some of the discussions had come close to crossing the "defamation" boundary, but he hasn't supplied specific messages yet. I just want people to know that you're free to rag on Bill Birnes (or us for that matter), but please try to keep the conversation a little more civil, OK?
