SIGHTINGS



Reed Speech At The
IUFOC - Another Dagger
In Heart Of UFOlogy?
By Michael Goodspeed <gspeed@teleport.com>
http://www.geocities.com/michael_goodspeed/Forbidden_Truth.html
2-21-00
 
The opinions stated by Mr. Goodspeed in this article,
and all other articles on this site, do not necessarily reflect
the views of this website or any of its sponsors. As always,
we welcome and encourage comments and responses.
 
 
For the past couple of years, a highly-enigmatic and mostly inaccessible man by the name of "Dr." Jonathan Reed, along with his faithful cohort Robert Raith, have been regaling the alternative world with their tale of an ET encounter like no other.
 
You see, one fine morning in the woods of Washington state, Reed had a very unfortunate incident with a visitor from another world. It all started when he and his dog Suzy were hiking in the picturesque beauty of the Cascade Mountains when, suddenly, ET's evil sister jumped out of a bush and ate poor Suzy!! Dr. Reed responded as would any red-blooded American - he grabbed a makeshift Lousiville slugger and brained ET's sister into a bloody coma.
 
The carcass of the being was then shipped to the refrigerator in Reed's home, until it later "regenerated" and released itself on its own recognizance.
 
Dr. Reed also has a number of photographs of the alien, and an "obelisk" that was presumably occupied by the creatures star-trekking pals. He has repeatedly promised to provide physical evidence of his "encounter," but has never delivered to anything resembling an independent source.
 
Normally, when a story as patently absurd as this comes along, and all photographic and/or physical evidence is thoroughly debunked, the appropriate response is a light-hearted chuckle and a shake of the head. One must keep an open mind to the most extreme possibilities, but we mustn't open our minds so wide that our brains fall out (like the poor alien in this case). Prominent members of the UFO community have always distanced themselves from fantastical tales that have no supporting evidence. The reason for this is obvious-hoaxes provide needless ammunition to debunkers, and muddy the waters for people who seek the truth. It's hard enough to discern between fact and fiction in this field without blatant liars receiving endorsements and air time from popular personalities.
 
You can imagine, then, why many UFO investigators/researchers/journalists are expressing their abject horror over the choice of Reed as keynote speaker at the 2000 International UFO Conference in Laughlin, Nevada.
 
Reed and Raith have long been viewed as nothing more than comic relief by UFO insiders. I have yet to meet a single respected UFOlogist and/or researcher, investigator or journalist who thinks otherwise. It's sad that Reed and Raith have not been challenged on the radio show that has given them their primary exposure, but many in the UFO community have been extremely vocal in expressing their disgust. I challenge anyone to find a SINGLE respected UFOlogist who finds their story credible.
 
The photographic evidence offered by Reed has been shredded in every manner imaginable. Numerous photo analysts have had a field day discrediting Reed's pictures, which are campy even by 1950's B-movie standards. Here are just a few examples:
 
Steve Neill, Hollywood special effects wizards, from http://www.angelfire.com/oh/UFOCHALLENGE/page7.html:
 
"To date, all of the 'Aliens' I've seen both posted on the internet and in allegedly homemade encounter/contact videos don't even come close to our current professional/technical standards. And this latest one (the Reed 'alien') is no exception....I know rubber when I see it...and I'm seeing rubber. If they really want to deceive us, they have to try a lot harder....This 'alien' head appears to be rubber latex with a rubber cement paint job painted on the outside surface; it has no depth. The red that appears under the eyelids looks very much like polyurethane foam that has been tinted red. We often use that same process to create 'gore' effects. Of course, it would help a great deal to see the actual tape, but I'm sure when I do it will only further reinforce my view....This amateur job, in my opinion, is an obvious attempt to make money and nothing else. And it scares me to think how many people might fall for this, and other similar charades, and spend their hard, honestly-earned money on people who cannot or will not earn an honorable living."
 
Royce J. Myers III, from www.sightings.com/ufo/reed.htm:
 
"Judging from the photo it appears that the camera used was set to infinity as the background and foreground are in focus, with the exception of a portion of the bottom of the photo which appears to be out of focus. I served as a Forest Protection Officer with the U.S. Forest Service and have spent a great amount of time out in the wilderness. My point in this is that the ferns in the background of the photo can not be more than 2 feet high...how tall is the alleged alien? This fact provides a reference for the size of the object in the photo. Quite a small vessel for an alien, wouldn't you agree?... "...The photo of the UFO looks very suspicious to me as the edges of the object are jagged and the pixels do not seem to be a part of the photo at all. There are endless possibilities here, my guess is that the image has been digitally manipulated...probably Adobe Photoshop, you can do anything with this program.... "...It also appears that the object has a shadowing effect on the underside, yet it casts no shadow nor does the foliage in the background. Where is the light source that is causing the shadowing effect on the object coming from? Another point to remember in looking at UFO photos is that the great majority of hoaxes seem to have the UFO at the center of the frame and the lighting perfect. This is true for this photo as well, it is too perfect. Did the witness in this incident have enough time to set up a tri-pod for his camera while he killed the alien? The photos are very nice and centered for someone who has just gone through such a tramatic experience. It doesn't take a genius to figure this one out. You can expect to see fashion models in the center of a photo, I just tend to believe that UFOs do not pose for photographers (ala Billie Meier). The object also appears to have a reflective quality to it, but you do not see anything resembling a tree or other foliage in the reflection of the object. This again suggests that the object was not in the original photo."
 
Lea H. MacDonald (article from 12-22-98 at http://www.angelfire.com/oh/UFOCHALLENGE/index1.html ):
 
"Several days ago I received an email from a fellow researcher by the name of Royce Myers. He had been kind enough to attach a logo from the page of a Norio Hayakawa. He pointed out that the "inset" picture of an object looked very much like the infamous Reed 'obelisk.' I cut the image from the logo and pasted it beside the Reed 'black obelisk' image to do a comparison. Much to my surprise there were several 'exact matches'...so exact, in fact, I felt compelled to post the images on my web site. I did this, however, only after several more hours of very close comparison and analysis. I drew attention to the identical shadows and a couple of pixels, not to mention the exact proportion duplication of the two 'obelisks.' Within a day of the posting of the obelisk comparison, I received an email from an the "designer" telling me to "REMOVE PICTURES IMMEDIATELY!" He claimed: Not only was it (the 'obelisk') a cropping of artwork "he made" for Norio, but it had absolutely nothing to do with the Reed alien hoax whatsoever. The "designer" went on to say, the logo was on Norio's site for about a week and then people started emailing him about this Reed hoax of which he did not want anything to do with, and added, in his honest opinion he felt it was a hoax as well. He ended up by admitting, he did design it to look similar on purpose to see if anyone would respond - to show people how easy it is to hoax a graphic. Little did he know it would receive such a response."
 
 
So, just what, exactly, are the organizers of the IUFOC thinking? Are they not aware of the enormous harm their "endorsement" of Reed will do to themselves, and UFOlogy as a whole? Those of you who see the study of UFO's as a mindless form of entertainment in the same ilk as professioinal wrestling might not object to Reed's mercenary attempt to make money; in the age of TV shows like "Who Wants to Marry a Millionaire," selling one's dignity for a quick buck has become an acceptable social more. People like Reed have gotten away with selling snake oil since the beginning of time. But we have come to expect and DEMAND more at the annual IUFOC.
 
In a recent article on the damage inflicted on UFOLogy by misinsformatioon and/or disinformation, I wrote:
 
"The past 50 years have proven demonstrably that the greatest enemy of UFOlogy is the deliberate hoax. It's a diffcult enough task for genuine researchers to compete against the rigid mind-set of "mainstream" science and the popular media without having to constantly explain, rationalize, and apologize for public hoaxes. The frauds perpetrated by people like Ed Walters, Billy Meier(?), Bob Lazar, Courtney Brown, Jonathan Reed, Richard Hoagland and others have provided tremendous ammunition to debunkers who are intent on destroying UFOlogy. People like Reed ride on the coattails of great researchers who gave everything of themselves in pursuit of the truth. Names like Jacques Vallee, Dr. J. Allen Hyneck, and Stanton Friedman come immediately to mind. The air time... given to (these) shameful hucksters is a grotesque insult to past UFOlogists, and only serves to diminish their research."
 
I went on to write that in the modern era of UFOlogy,..."geunine truth-seekers must ...sift through an increasingly large pile of dung in order to find a granule of truth. Somewhere, James Randi and Philip Klass are laughing their heads off."
 
Reed's successful infiltration of UFOlogy is raising serious questions about who the good guys are...and who might not be what they seem to be. In the past, the IUFOC has mostly featured the most credible, reputed figures in the alternative world. It's almost impossible to believe that the judgment of the event's organizers has become so lax, or their desire to sensationalize so great, that they would risk discrediting themselves by associating with this guy. Is their another agenda at work here, one that all serious UFOlogists should be wary of? Even the most well-intentioned researchers are occasionally hoodwinked by pre-packaged disinformation, and when people like the IUFOC organizers show no discrimination in who they endorse, the already exasperating task of discerning truth from fiction and knowing who trust becomes nearly impossible.
 
The Reed story should be viewed in the same vane as a TV-show like "Dark Skies," an abominable series that was axed by NBC a dozen episodes into its first season. The sole purpose of "Skies" was seemingly to make the ET phenomena look so unappealing and implausible that only a moron or luatic would have any interest in it. I worry greatly that members of the general public will have a similar response to media coverage of this year's IUFOC. If UFOlogy is ever going to be recognized as the legitimate study of a genuine phenomena, then its most influential members will have to start displaying a modicum of rational judgment.
 
 
ALL COMMENTS ARE WELCOME
 
speed@teleport.com
 
 
 
 
Comment
 
 
From <SJones@corp.theglobe.com To <gspeed@teleport.com 2-22-00
 
 
You might benefit from a direct hearing of the case from the first hand witnesses rather than second and third hand hearsay. Your characterization of the case was predominated by gross inaccuracies (I can only wonder "why?"). Any real phenomenon looks like a good fake. The fact that a fake can look the same never means that the real thing can't exist. The hearsay about thirdhand witnesses response should be balanced by testimony from the Kodak photographic scientists and other first-hand witnesses that have done actual research on the first-hand evidence. The material evidence you deride as non-existant can be seen and read about on the website that was made for Reed by a volunteer at <http://www.OdysseyLink.net
 
We have far more to fear from reactionary prejudice than any presentation by any witnesses. If you wait and see for yourself you can be confident in your opinions. Your hysteria makes you sound a bit like a fool or aa agent provocateur. It wont hurt you to wait and watch. Theres a whole world out there, friend.
 
--- stvjns
 
 
 
From Michael Goodspeed <gspeed@teleport.com To <SJones@corp.theglobe.com 2-22-00
 
"Friend," I'm afraid the only reactionary, predisposed bias being displayed by anyone is coming from you. One thing I didn't mention in my article is the total debunking of Reed's "credentials", as well as those of "scientists" who supposedly support his "evidence." I refer you to another Sightings artice written by Dr. Tim Haley, on January 30, 2000:
 
 
The following allegations from Mr. Reed during his December 9, 1999 interview on the Art Bell show have been investigated:
 
1. Mr. Reed claims to have been admitted to graduate school at UCLA after only spending two years at San Diego State University where he obtained a Teaching Education Certificate for Secondary Education with a GPA of 3.0. UCLA has no record of a Jonathan Reed obtaining his Ph.D. at that institution.
 
2. UMI maintains hard copy and microfilm copy of all Ph.D. dissertations and does not have Jonathan Reed's alleged UCLA dissertation on file.
 
3. Reed claims to have worked during the summer of 1979 with Dr. Frank Oski at Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Frank Oski did not arrive at John's Hopkins until 1985.
 
4. Reed claimed to be a member of the National Psychological Association. There is no National Psychological Association.
 
5. Reed claims to have worked at the Department of Psychology at the University of Washington. Upon checking with the University of Washington Medical Center, the Department of Psychology and the Department of Psychiatry, it was confirmed that they have never had anyone named Jonathan Reed in those departments.
 
6. Reed claims that a Microbiologist by the name of Chacon has analyzed samples of recovered biological material from the alien Reed held in his freezer. Chacon claims to have received his Master's Degree in Microbiology from the Catholic University of Puerto Rico. The Catholic University of Puerto Rico does not offer Master's degrees in Microbiology.
 
 
Additionally, there is no evidence to support the claims made by Jonathan Reed. Unless Mr. Reed can provide any reasonable corroborating evidence to support his biography and that of his colleague Chacon, he should be removed from your program. I would think that the UFO Congress should hold high standards for their speakers and at a minimum require the speaker's biography to be validated before issuing an invitation to speak. Otherwise, your reputation will suffer, you do injustice to the field of UFOlogy, and you insult the other speakers who have worked so hard for their reputation.
 
Timothy A. Haley, Ph.D. TimHaley@aol.com
 
 
"Friend," the indignity you profess in your letter is genuinely amusing; it's funny that an obvious Reed lackey like yourself would accuse ME of a predisposed bias. It's hilarious that Reed and Raith accuse anyone who challenges them of having a rigid, close-minded attitude. You say that the "first and second hand witnesses" are more reliable than objective, third party analyses. Obviously, since every proponent of Reed's theory has been exposed as a charlatan, that argument carries zero weight. However, I do greatly appreciate your letter, because you've reminded me that I need to be even more diligent in exposing these guys. I'm going to post your email on my website, along with Dr. Haley's admirably thorough debunking job. Thanks for your help.
 
 
--Michael Goodspeed
 
--
 
Comment
 
 
From Michael Bessee
<BESSEE@PCEZ.COM 2-21-00
 
I read your article that appeared on the "Sightings" web site, and noted some statements you've made reference to that are, I think, wrong with reference to the telling of the story on Art Bells radio show. I've heard all the shows live and taped them in order to replay them and listen for inconsistencies in the story.
 
I don't see the tale as any more unbelievable than any other first or second hand UFO/Alien encounter. Correct me if I'm wrong, but are there ANY photo's that have been proven to be real, and if so what are they,...where can I view them...and review the incontrivertible (sp?) evidence?
 
Until such time as there exists ANY verifiable physical evidence I think they ALL have to be taken with a grain of salt, if you know what I mean.
 
With reference to your statement that the entity "ate" the dog - what interview was this and at what point was the reference made?(which hour?)
 
I also recall no reference that the entity "released" itself - on the contrary I believe he stated that it did reanimate but that the corpse was "removed" by unknown personnel at a later date.
 
I recall no statement by Reed that the "obelisk" was assumed to be the method of conveyance that the entity arrived in - I think in fact that he states that he didn't think it was necessarily related to the entity but "assumed" it must be because of it's proximity to the encounter.
 
As a matter of fact I find the structure of the story plausible, the basis of the story as plausible as any other related anectdote, and the interviews remarkably consistent.
 
As far as the "expert" opinions of the photo's....let's recall the many hundreds (I should say thousands)of photo's that exist...and then recall that there are "experts" that attest to their validity, as well as "experts" that attest to their invalidity. The testimony of a special effects artist that wasn't involved in their preparation is NOT expert testimony! Likewise, the witnesses assertion that they ARE real is just as suspect. There are NO verifiable original negatives that I know of that are available for examination of ANY alien entity. Again, if I'm wrong - please submit YOUR evidence to the contrary.
 
I'll withhold my judgement until such time as there exists the "REAL" smoking gun. After 39 years of examining every detail regarding this or any other ALIEN/UFO/ABDUCTION scenario Ive been able to get my hands on I have yet to have seen, or read, the the "Absolute Truth" - I dare say it doesn't exist at this time, and if it does it is NOT generally accepted as the "FINAL WORD".
 
As far as Reeds being the keynote speaker,...you must in fact understand from the promotional standpoint he DOES have the most sensational tale at this time, and he HAS gotten exposure to a very large audience and since it is in fact such a controversial subject it would make sense to promote him and in fact create additional controversy among the rank and file of UFO researchers and other interested parties to enhance the "success" of the conference - very well thought out I might ad. This is from the perspective of my having been a successful promoter of music acts, merchandise and sales and advertising promotions.
 
In all fairness you haven't brought to light ANYTHING that hasn't been covered hundreds of times before with regard to EVERY sensational UFO/ALIEN/ABDUCTION scenario that has come along.
 
You've offered NOTHING to substantiate your assertions that is any more convincing than Reeds own personal account of the story - In fact I think you've actually damaged your own credibility by the inaccurate statements in your article.
 
No harm meant to you - I understand your passion for the lack of ANY undeniable physical evidence - but photo's and personal accounts will NEVER be the smoking gun. Until such time as we have the actual craft available for public inspection and the alien entity in the flesh there will be...NO FACTS AVAILABLE!
 
Sincerely,
Michael Bessee
 
---
 
 
From Michael Goodspeed <gspeed@teleport.com>
To Michael Bessee
2-23-00
 
 
You state in your email that no evidence in the field of UFOlogy is perfect...that is absolutely true. I certainly support your assertion that judgment should be withheld until all evidence is in. That is why, when assessing the credibility of any person's claims, lies that the person tells about his or her background and credentials are especially important. I've already pointed to the numerous proven inconsistencies in Reed's claims about his education and background, as documented by Dr. Tim Haley. Are you honestly going to tell me that that does not cast enormous doubt on Reed's story? Why would any genuine "experiencer" feel the need to falsify their credentials and/or recruit bogus scientists to validate their story?
 
You say that Reed's story is no less plausible than any other UFO tale. I have enormous disagreement with that statement. Nothing in ANY other UFO account that I've heard suggests that an ET who has mastered the art of traveling light years to our solar system would allow himself to be bludgeoned to death by a disgruntled human. For clarity, using the word "ate" when describing the alleged alien's annihilation of Reed's poor fur-faced friend may have been somewhat distorted.
 
In fact, the verbatim account of the dog's death, >from Odysseylink.net, reads "the creature extended a 'fleshy pseudopod' around the dog's muzzle and severely wounded her. Suzy's tissues seemed to "flow" into this wound. She was consumed in a matter of seconds (from Odysseylink.net) All that remained was a white powder." Yes, Michael Bessee, I'd say that is much more plausible than the idea that the dog was "eaten." I admit, at 10 years, my study of UFOlogy is not as lengthy as yours...but I challenge anyone to find an account of any abductee or experiencer that includes the disintegration of a canine by a "fleshy pseudopod."
 
As for the comments about the obelisk, if you read the article, you'll see I said that it was "presumably" filled with ET's star-trekking pals. I never said that Reed was insisting that was the case. You write, "I understand your passion for the lack of ANY undeniable physical evidence." No sir, I've come to expect that as an unavoidable fact of life in this field. I am, in fact, passionately fed up to the hilt with UFOlogy being led down the toilet by hucksters and scam artists who regularly diminish the work of the brave researchers who preceded them. Of course people like Reed and Raith should have the right to tell their story, and it's impossible to cover this issue on a nightly talk show without running into the occasional fraud. But when the spinner of any far-fetched tale is proven to be dishonest, when they are known to have lied about their background and credentials, when their photographic and/or physical evidence is proven to be highly dubious, the time for bending an ear to them is over.
 
From Michael Goodspeed <gspeed@teleport.com>
2-23-00
 
 
"If you were familiar with the sequence of episodes Mr Reed so compellingly describes, you would know that some high level government intelligence agencies are involved."
 
On what evidence are you basing that assertion, other than Reed's personal testimony?
 
"Since you have not even taken the trouble to correct yourself and apologize for your broadcasted distortions, I can only assume that you are against any open-minded hearing of Reed's very interesting and detailed story."
 
Sir, Jonathan Reed has had a public hearing that's lasted for the better part of 2 years. He has never produced anything resembling proof of his credentials, or those of the people who claim to support this tale. He has never delivered his evidence to anything resembling an independent source. He has never addressed the extraordinary allegations made against him, though he's had better than two years to do so. Your assertion that I have some insane, personal bias against him and do not want him to receive proper consideration is baseless. I am all for a continued consideration of his tale. BUT ALL EVIDENCE HE HAS PRESENTED IS DUBIOUS, AT BEST! I have no problem with Reed telling his story to anyone who will listen, but the selection of someone as suspect as Reed to speak at the prestigious IUFOC has enraged virtually all genuine UFOlogists.
 
You are taking the self-righteous position that Reed has faced some kind of unfair bias from UFOlogy. Really? Why? What is the motivation of highly-reputed investigators/journalists/experiences like Steve Neill, Diana Botsford, Lea H. McDonald, Royce Myers III, and Michael Lindemann, who have had the courage to speak out against these guys? Are they just mean-old school ground bullies in the same vane as James Randi and Joe Nickell? Are they diametrically opposed to the idea of ET life? Hardly. In fact, it is their passion for truth and integrity in the field of UFOLogy that compells them to shine the light of truth on these people.
 
"Hey, lets examine YOUR life and see how well YOUR credentials stand up to scrutiny."
 
Sir, I've NEVER claimed to be something I am not. Nor have I tried to profit off of fear or gullibility. The details of my past and present are an open book. You may scrutinize them all you like.
 
"Name-calling and divisiveness causes the biggest damage to Ufology that I can imagine. Why would you want to do that? " I wasn't aware that I was name-calling, though the heated tone of my response may have been inspired by your name-calling: "Your hysteria makes you sound a bit like a fool or aa agent provocateur."
 
"The only thing that matters now in this case is what Reed presents at the congress, and how the intelligent peer review proceeds." Indeed...and brace yourself for a very likely possibility. I think there is at least some chance that Reed will admit to having pulled a fast-one on the general public and UFOlogy, as did SpamHaus employees JPL's Kent, Mel (of Mel's hole), and the folks who spread the rumor of Robert Stephens' death. If that's the case, unlike an unfortunate few, I won't spend the rest of my life wiping egg from my face.. --Michael Goodspeed >
 
 
Comment
 
Conspiracy Accusation
 
From Michael Goodspeed <gspeed@teleport.com
2-25-00
 
I sent the following email to reap the whirlwind minutes ago: In regards to your accusations about myself and David Oates on your website, there are several facts about myself which you are obviously not aware of. Why you would pulbish such a commentary without any knowledge of who I am is a mystery to me.
 
1) You refer to me as a "graduate" of reverse speech...funny, since I started doing my first reversals in late-December/early January and I've NEVER received any formal training. In fact, I am currently signed up for on-line training on David's site, and am still waiting to take the first class..
 
2) You state that I am being "used" by Oates to "rekindle" an old conflict with Bell and his guests. There is nothing for me to say about that commentary, other than it is ABSOLUTELY FALSE. I have NEVER ONCE spoken to David about my writings, though I have on occasion sent them to him after posting them on my site. I was midly worried that these kinds of allegations would arise if I wrote critical pieces that related to Bell. If I had known that my commentaries would draw these kinds of false accusations, I might not have written them.
 
3) David and I met in person for the first time approximately 10 weeks ago. Aside from the appearances I've made on his show, both as a guest and as host of ExNews, we have had approximately a dozen personal phone conversations, possibly less.
 
One thing you fail to mention is that my editorials were all entirely factual. Name ONE factual error in any of my writings. You are trying to harm David and myself for the sake of "eliminating the competition." If you want to attack me for my opinions, feel free. But you are trying to harm David for the purpose of enhancing yourselves. If Bell or anyone else has a problem with my writings, if they have ANY factual dispute with any comment I have ever made, I am all ears.
 
Unlike you, I have never made any false of misleading statements about someone for the sake of harming him, professionally or personally. My editorials are filled with strong opinions and acerbic attempts at humor, but they are factual and ENTYIRELY INSPIRED by MY thoughts, no one else's. There is no crime in stating one's opinion forcefully, as long it does not degenerate into name-calling and remains rooted in fact. You don't seem to understand that challenging the often outrageous claims made by people like Ed Dames, Scallion, Hoagland and Reed, does not add up to slander.
 
In my article that you have posted on your site, the past predictions and comments of Bell's guests (and Bell himself) are not taken out of context or selectively excerpted...THEY ARE POSTED VERBATIM, and speak for themselves.
 
I hope that, at the very least, you will take the time to speak to me personally about your extraordinary allegations. I would be more than happy to contact any person affiliated with "Reap the Whirlwind" to clear up this confusion.
 
Thank you
--Michael Goodspeed
 
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