A Magickal Trip To The Moon By Sean Casteel
developed through early issues of “Amazing Stories” and stints with explosive powder companies, earned him a leading role in a small gang performing rocketry experiments at and around Caltech in the 1930s. At that time, rocketry was for “twisted dreamers,” not serious scientists. His gang was nicknamed the “Suicide Squad” because of the frightening explosions they were causing on campus. They were later relocated to the nearby Arroyo Seco canyon to conduct their experiments in discovering stable, usable rocket fuels. A Magickal Trip To The Moon
By Sean Casteel
Jack Parsons and the rocket fuel he invented took NASA and the Apollo astronauts to the moon. But his personal life was fraught with strange, even wicked, complications and cast a dark shadow over the entire space program, both public and secret. According to an online posting at Reason.com, called “The Magical Father of American Rocketry” and written by Brian Doherty, “He was an acolyte of Aleister Crowley, an employee of Howard Hughes, and an enthusiastic phone buddy to Werner Von Braun. He became a vital link in two mighty chains in human history: rocketry and ritual magic. His science was built on intuition, and his magic on experiment.” Parsons was born in 1914, the only child of a broken home, and died in 1952, in an explosion in his backyard lab in Pasadena, California. BLOWING THINGS UP Doherty reviews a 2005 biography of Parsons called “Strange Angel: The Otherworldly Life Of Rocket Scientist John Whiteside Parsons,” which “tells the bizarre tale of a character whose innovations in rocket fuel design were vital to mankind’s leaving the surface of the planet.” While Parsons had only a high school education, his deep knowledge of explosives, which
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When World War II came along, the US military called upon these oddballs at Caltech, hoping to use their crazy rocket gadgets to propel planes into the air in places without adequate runways. “Gradually, the little gang of misfits,” Doherty writes, “evolved into the Jet Propulsion Laboratories. Parsons designed
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new rocket fuel after new rocket fuel, and eventually they succeeded in inventing jet-assisted takeoff. The military wasn’t designed for Parsons’ unconventional life- and work-styles. It took staid money boys and military discipline to turn his ideas into an industrial machine.” A LITTLE EVIL ON THE SIDE While inventing the rocket fuel that would make the space age possible, Parsons also explored the frontiers of inner space, building the other half of his weird reputation. “He became enraptured with the writings of Aleister Crowley and joined the LA-based Agape Lodge of Crowley’s Ordo Templi Orientis. Crowley’s American lieutenants seized on the charismatic and successful scientist as a potential savior for their movement; he began donating almost all his salary to the upkeep of his lodge brethren.”
After the war, his occult activism attracted the young L. Ron Hubbard into his life. The pre“Dianetics” author took off for Florida with Parsons’ girlfriend and most of his money and never came back. The official Scientology version of the story is that Hubbard was sent by Navy intelligence to break up Parsons’ evil occult sex ring. In the late 1940s, Parsons was stripped of his security clearance and almost prosecuted for treason for slipping classified documents from his then-employer, Hughes Aircraft, to the newly established Israeli government, with whom he hoped to work in rocketry. According to an online posting by Nick Redfern, called “Final Events: UFOs, Demons and the Government,” the man still so revered and honored by senior figures within the US space program was an admitted occultist who would attempt a ritual to try to invoke the Greek god, Pan, before each rocket test. When the FBI investigated Parsons following the theft of the classified papers from Hughes Aircraft, they turned up even stranger allegations. An earlier Air Force report was forwarded to the FBI which related Parsons’ experience with Aleister Crowley’s legacy. “A religious cult,” the report read, “believed to advocate sexual perversion, was organized at the subject’s home, at 1003 South Orange Grove Avenue, Pasadena, California, which has been reported subversive.” The Air Force and FBI also had knowledge of “The Church of Thelema,” of which Parsons was a member, saying “this cult broadly hinted at free love,” and that there had been “several complaints of strange goings on at this home,” and that an unnamed source had described the church as “a gathering place of perverts.” “Women of loose morals were involved,” the report goes on, “and the story of Parsons’ activities had become fairly common knowledge among scientists in
the Pasadena area.” That Parsons had been highly cavalier with confidential files was a serious matter in itself, Redfern goes on. But that Parsons – occultist and perhaps sexual deviant – had been granted a Top Secret clearance was seen as being utterly beyond the pale. His clearance was revoked on the grounds that he might voluntarily or involuntarily pose a danger to US national security. A LEGACY OF RUMOR AND STRANGENESS Naturally such a figure as Parsons continues to inspire a lot of rumor and conjecture. Along the way, he has been accused of engaging in sexual bestiality with a dog and ritual incest with his mother. He was also said to have engaged in painstaking rituals designed to create a “Moon Child,” a magickal being who would usher in a new age of unfettered liberty and signal the end of the Christian era and its “outmoded” morality. It is an interesting side note that the man who invented the rocket fuel that took us to the moon was also attempting to conjure a supernatural creature named after that same celestial object. When one factors in the Nazi origins of Werner Von Braun along with Parsons’ deep-seated occult connections, it creates a witch’s brew of mystery as to the true beginnings of the American space program. Was some kind of backdoor deal made with Satan to ensure the US would be first in the race to the moon and beyond? Do we owe it all to a demonic voice whispering in the ears of carefully chosen scientists of dubious moral background? We can’t be sure of course, but it does raise some evil suspicions regarding achievements we are often urged to feel a patriotic sense of pride about. [If you enjoyed this article, visit Sean Casteel’s “UFO Journalist” website at www.seancasteel. com to read more articles or to purchase one of Casteel’s books.]
A Decade in Review
A DECADE IN REVIEW “THE 90’S By J. Franco Chavez
My playlist at the moment: Van der Graaf Generator “Good Bluff”, Eric B. and Rakim “Best of”, Scorpions “Taken by Force”, RadioHead “Ok Computer”.... Note: From here on out the listing can get difficult, but to clear things up, these lists are NOT a “best of” list and there in no particular order, just albums i feel had importance in that decade, enjoy.... 1. Sonic Youth “Goo” - Alt/punk rock mania, cute, Heavy, quirky and lots of fun, def. there last of the early era magic, not that the albums after were not good... 2. Megadeth “ Rust in Peace” - A Thrash Metal masterpiece, PERIOD! , an obvious creation by the King of thrash, every fuckin track is killer, even “Death Metal” bands where shaking there heads, “like really you guys are still making this awesome shit!”
3. Weezer “Pinkerton” - An emotional Hard rock, heart breaking soundtrack for our lives at the time, i know ive fallen in love with a lesbian, have you? but seriously any “real” person can relate to this album, whether or not your “Emo” 4. Cannibal Corpse “Tomb of the Mutilated” - Possibly the first album with “true” gutteral vocals, percise, Heavy as shit, and featured the smash hit! “Hammer smashed face”, and it doesn’t hurt that Jim Carry is a big fan.
5. RadioHead “Ok Computer” - I fell head over heels for this album, and i cant say that for there first two albums, a soundtrack for the end of times, full of gloom and doom, with a lil indie rock for good measure, an absolute classic. 6. Immolation “Here and After” - absolute audio Devastation... if you think you’ve heard Heavy, you havent, if you think you’ve heard strange darkness, you haven’t, this album stands alone. 7. Hunk “ST” - This band created one album only, and it rocks the fuck out, imagine Weezer meets Queen, powerful to the very end and very memorable. check this one out, and if any one has heard anything on them let me know. 8. Morbid Angel “Blessed are the Sick” - An underground classic, and one of the first
Death Metal bands to be signed by a major label, and with good reason.
9. Sigh “ Infedel Art” - A one of a kind “Black Metal” band out of Japan, Avant Garde, Dark and exceptionally well written, buy this album, smoke some good green, turn off the lights, and let your mind go, or have nightmares.... 10. Mr. Bungle “Disco Volante” - whaaaaaaaaaaa!!!! this is NOT for the faint at heart, literally, like a mental patient who was able to record an album before he completely lost his shit. 11. Dr Dre. “The Chronic” - 1 2 3 and to the 4, Get the funk outta here, I have so many good memories when this album came out, Funky and as they say “Hella fun”, I was playing Sega Genesis, and my friend was having sex, ohh the 90’s 12.PortisHead “Dummy” - Beth and the gang are phenomenal on this one, there is a good reason you never find this album in the “Clearance section”, its always like a 40 bucks or sum, any who, one of my favs fo show.... 13. Sleep “Holy Mountain” - A mammoth record by these Cali. stoners, a classic in the annals of Doom rock history, this album even made Black Sabbath proud, need I say more. 14. Tori Amos “From the choirgirl Hotel” - Some of my friends gave me shit for loving this album, but once they heard the more haunting tracks, they remained quiet, dumb assess!, this ones for the inner lesbian in all of us. 15. Crucifixion “Paths Less Taken” - These H Town thug Metal heads were no joke, serious musicians who created an album so good it was cursed, by the time this album was ready to be released the label went under, track this awesome fucker down, and prepare to be amazed, proving that even Death Metal can have soul and feeling, hell yeah, thats another one for the “Texicans”... yeeeah! 16. Nirvana “Nevermind” - actually nevermind this one......
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By Franco Chavez
just kidding, this is a feel good album to me, it reminds me of being in 5th grade jumping around in my room, headbanging, and the smell of Fabuloso roaming the air because my mom was mopping the floors, good times
19. Notorious B.I.G. “Ready to Die” - To me BIG stuck out like a sore thumb, he wasnt trying to be “tough” or this or that... he was just real and flowed like it was second nature, We miss you Biggy and FUCK the man or who ever took you down.
17. Iced Earth “Storm Rider” Taking from the pure Megadeth and Metallica of the 80’s and re vamping it for the modern age, memorable, thrashing and just solid all around, one of there best albums.
20. Enslaved “Frost” - Norway legends at there finest, I am a big fan of Darkthrone and Emperor, but to me Enslaved went there own route, incorporating different elements that most Black Metal bands were afraid to use or just weren’t interested in doing, either way check this album out for yourself and you’ll know what i mean.
18. Bone Thugs n Harmony “E. 1999 Eternal” - Takes me back to 8th grade, drinking wine coolers with some friends on some weekends, bopping our heads, one sleepover we actually woke up on the 1st of the month and jammed 1st of the month, it was ghetto perfection.
For you readers who have any comments or questions (please dont send me the story of your life) send them to: axedrum@hotmail.com
Free Energy “Free Energy” By Jay Abazi
Like the air we breathe, energy is also all around us and in abundance. The only issue with energy is that it has to be harnessed. Today we use many different methods to create and harness energy. All over America we see nuclear power plants, coal power plants and in some places even wind or solar power plants. But what if all these power plants didn’t exist? What if the electricity, that powered our homes and our cities, was endlessly available to all…for free!?!! Many argue different scenarios that would include the fall of civilization, economic collapse and a new form of weapons that can be used to kill many people. Even though world economies are collapsing at this very moment and civilizations are falling every time you turn on the news, plus the massive stock of nuclear weapons that can annihilate the human species, I don’t see the risk. But to people who depend on the world consuming oil at an alarming rate, it means everything. Imagine companies like BP, Shell or ExxonMobil not making $200 billion in profits every quarter. That would ruin the lives of hundreds of people. Investors will lose a lot of money and pull out the markets. The markets will react to the hostility and collapse. Because of the bad market the banks will stop lending out money. The CEO’s and their associates will have to sell a couple of their mansions for less than what they paid. The banks will lose billions in in-
vestments (but they’ll just print more money, so they’re safe) and the lobbyists will be out of work. It’s a trickling effect that can’t be stopped.
found dead in his apartment weeks before the meeting. The official report stated he died of natural causes.
That is why free energy, or “new energy” as it is sometimes referred to, is always being suppressed from ever becoming a reality. One major instance was back in 1901 when the inventor Nikola Tesla invented a way to transmit power and energy wirelessly over long distances via transverse waves and longitudinal waves. He called this “radiant energy”. It sparked in a white color instead of gold and it ran cold instead of hot in wires. Since it was transmitted wirelessly and it ran cold through the wires, the need for copper was no longer needed. That didn’t sit well with banking giant J.P. Morgan, who owned almost every copper mine. So he shut Tesla down.
There have been many different inventions and theories on how to harness and use free energy. The most popular invention is a perpetual motion machine. It accesses the longitudinal wave at the center of an electromagnetic vortex rather than the more commonly known “transverse” wave that is coiling around it. Some other inventors have used the method of mimicking cosmic vortices with copper coils to create magnetic fields, then rotating these fields at certain octave frequencies to tap into the ambient energy of the space around the coils.
But Morgan didn’t stop there. He also used his influence in education to delete from textbooks the knowledge that can lead to creating devices that would give off free energy. Some conspiracy theorists even go as far as accusing Winston Churchill with creating “control groups” that would go around and suppress free energy inventors by stealing their work and burning it and even assassinating them. One possible victim of these “control groups” could have been Tesla. In 1943 Tesla submitted a proposal to FDR claiming he could get all the energy we could ever use from the space that surrounds us. The meeting was scheduled by FDR but never occurred. Tesla was
What is “free energy” and how does it work?
There has been an impressive legacy of more recent genius inventors all over the world. Since Tesla there have been numerous inventors like DePalma, Naudin, Bearden, Trombly, Bedini and many more. All have been developing radiant energy using different methods like magnet-powered motors, implosion/vortex engines, cold fusion technology, solar assisted heat pumps and much more. One of the most popular machines is the Bedini 10-pole device, which is pictured in this article. This energy transformation is obviously not a light matter or an easy transition. Many have tried to bring to market working “new energy” devices, but none have succeeded. Many are confronted with gag orders from the government and all their papers and lab work are confiscated. One inventor posted his “gag order” document he received from the government online. Below is an excerpt from that document: SECRECY ORDER (Title 35, U.S. Code (1952), sections 181-188) You are hereby notified that your application as above identified has been found to contain subject matter, the unauthorized disclosure of which might
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be detrimental to the national security, and you are ordered in nowise to publish or disclose the invention or any material information…..
Another inventor who was suppressed was named Gene Mallove. He was a Harvard and MIT trained scientist who edited the Infinite Energy Magazine. Unlike other inventors, Mallove never tried to patent his work, knowing his work would be stolen and burned, so he tried a different approach. He would go on talk radio, or at least he tried. He was scheduled to appear on Coast to Coast with George Noory, one of the nation’s biggest radio shows and talk about free energy. The day before he was scheduled to go on air, he was mysteriously bludgeoned to death. Why the suppression of something so amazing can only come from the hands of a few who depend on it. The only people, who would not benefit, monetarily, would be the oil, coal and gas companies, the few companies who hold over $200 trillion in underground piggy banks and hold major political power in
government. Imagine the effects on personal prosperity of not having to pay fuel, heating and electricity bills. Imagine how different your life would be with little or no taxes and little or no energy costs. Imagine having all that extra cash available for owning your own home or car, voluntary education, organic foods, preventive and holistic healthcare, savings and responsible investments. Think of the clean air we can breathe or the drinkable water in our streams and rivers. Even the notion of no more wars of aggression fighting over resources has to be something to enjoy. No matter how much I think about it or how much research I do, I can not find any negatives with free energy. The only thing that comes close is the effect it would have on the oil companies and the stock market. But with government bail-outs and subsidies, they can transition to new energy very quickly. With the current inventions available we would need a machine of some sort to power our homes or businesses. This machine would need to be built by somebody and most likely would be built by numerous businesses. Maybe ExxonMobil can become the world’s leading supplier of free energy machines. Shell can be the leading builder of magnet-powered machines. There can be competition for many companies to prosper. New companies will prosper, more people will have money to spend and invest, the economy grows and the markets boom. It’s almost too good to be true, and with government suppression we will never know.
THE UFO CONFERENCE, The Program Book & 10 YEARS OF FRINGE PUBLISHING
By russell dowden
to this day. We relocated to San Marcos in August 2009 and started publishing in San Marcos TX in October of 2009 and remained there for over 2 years often distributing the magazine’s in south Austin. In January of this year Weird Magazine returns to Austin in 2012 and keeps our karma in balance for the upcoming big show in Dec. when the mothership returns to take us home to the planet Erra in the Pleadies Star cluster. We hope you enjoy our style of publishing over the years. We’ve done many interviews with paranormal authors to comedians, to rock n roll stars. Yes, Cheech & Chong have appeared twice, Ghostland Observatory, Dave Attel, GWAR, Vinnie Paul, Jim Marrs, Stanton Friedman, Dean Haglund and many others have made the pages of WEIRD Magazine over the years. Next month is our April 420 Issue and is also our 99th edition. While MAY marks our 100th!
In Sept. 2001, after the 38th Annual National UFO Conference that wasn’t, I asked SMiles Lewis, who I assisted in coordinating the cancelled NUFOC event, to be my editor of a new paper that I wanted to start. Together we came up with “The Austin Para Times Not your normal news.” A brash alternative paranormal and conspiracy reader for the Austin area in the newly Post 9/11 world the Bush regime had created; APT became a voice for dissenting views and expressing alternative thoughts on the ever shifting paradigm. The fact is, the UFO Conference was cancelled due to the 9/11 tragedy. Since all flights were grounded that week, none of the speakers were able to attend. Things were crazy that whole week for many Americans. However, we successfully printed a nice program booklet with advertisers, articles and a line up of musical guests for the 3 day event
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explaining what you can expect from a UFO conference. The booklet was cool. It’s cover was designed by local Austin artist, and co-conspirator Mack White. Since my background was advertising, radio, and print media sales, teaming up with fellow UFO conference team members made since to staff a newspaper about fringe or Fortean topics. In hindsight, the paper became our way of bringing some closure to the non-event.
March 1st 2002 we printed our first edition. We published the first 9 issues as a Bi-Monthly over an 18 month period until October of 2004 when we began printing monthly ever since. Weird Magazine has existed in McAllen since that October
Hard to believe even for me some times we’ve been doing this paper this long. It’s a lot of fun and has always been supported by our advertisers in order to keep making it available free to the public. So say thank you to our advertisers once in a while for supporting us, or call them and thanks would be a nice gesture too.
So we are back home in Austin doing our Magazine once again and look forward to more input from Austin readers and Business owners to get more involved and help us keep Austin weirder than ever! Thanks to all
of our advertisers for keeping us alive all these years! For tips on publishing, complaints, articles or advertising simply email us at weirdmagazine@ gmail.com
3rd Annual Wildfire Reggae & Arts Festival
WEIRD MAGAZINE Is Proud to Sponsor the 3rd Annual Reggae & Arts Festival. W: Welcome to Weird Magazine Greg, Tell us a little bit about Episode Phive and the 3rd Annual Wildfire Reggae & Arts Festival.
WRAF: Episode Phive is a grassroots Reggae promotions collective that embraces the fan/band relationship without compromising the integrity of this soul lifting music we love. We promote a certain way. We treat our fans a certain way. We respect the overall message of Reggae music as well. This has never been about making money but if it comes someday then we are cool with that too. We all have our day jobs and
we NEVER want this to feel like a day job. It is a passion and Reggae music has had a huge impact on every team members life in some way, shape or form. It is kind of a prerequisite to be a part of E5. Our movement is 100% about the music and the message. W: What kind of Big Name acts do you have slated for this year? WRAF: Can we list the entire line-up here? They are all big names from where we are standing...but some of our national/international acts include:
- HR (of Bad Brains) w/members of Fishbone - Gappy Ranks (London, UK) - Dubtonic Kru (Kingston, Jamaica) - Zvuloon Dub System
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(Tel Aviv, Israel) - Josh Heinrichs & SkillinJah (Springfield, MO) - Common Kings (Costa Mesa, CA) Check out our full line-up at wildfirereggaefest.com W: Why decide to have the festival during SXSW?
WRAF: Our reasoning: 1) Reggae is neglected during SXSW 2) We wanted to provide the ultimate exposure canvas for this genre during SXSW 3) A lot of locals don’t want to mess with the madness of SXSW
4) Badges are WAY too expensive! We don’t need no stinkin’ badges! We are for the people. 5) It has been growing and gaining support since year one...why change up the dates now? W: So what kinds of food will there be this year? WRAF: This year we will have Caribbean Cuisine, Carnival Fare and Texas BBQ! All bases covered from Jerk Chicken to Fried Oreos to BBQ to handdipped foot long corn dogs! We have your munchie needs covered! W: Is it too late to sponsor this event? WRAF: By the time this interview is run it will be. Please hit us up for 2013 sponsorship at wildfirereggaefest@gmail. com. It is NEVER too early.
3rd Annual Wildfire Reggae & Arts Festival MARCH 15th-17th W: How can folks get more involved in Wildfire? WRAF: We are actually looking for volunteers...well not really volunteers...lol...it is more like a “work for beer” internship (for 21+). Pick a day to volunteer and pick a day you are NOT volunteering to receive an artist wristband. Hello VIP/Artist Lounge... which includes FREE BEER! If you aren’t 21+ and you still want to volunteer please hit us up. Your involvement with this festival will look nice on your resume and will speak volumes about your taste in music! ;) W: What act are you looking forward to seeing the most this year Phive? WRAF: ALL OF THEM! Otherwise why book them? W: Ruta Maya has been great the last few years. Are you staying here for future events as well? WRAF: We are in it for the long haul with Ruta Maya! Look for some BIG Reggae shows in the coming months that would
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typically take place at larger venues here in Austin. We want the intimate vibe we foster at Wildfire to cross over to all of our Reggae shows. Even though this is Texas...bigger is not always better. What happened to intimacy? That’s what we want to bring to our shows. We want Reggae fans leaving an E5 show to feel really good about the event they just supported. Love & passion stylee! W: What is the goal in doing these festivals? WRAF: We want to give the people a show that they will remember. We are ALL about good vibes. From the door guy to the promoter to the stage hand. It’s like that! Come as you are. Everyone is a VIP. You don’t have to be 21+ or have $500 in your wallet to attend Wildfire. We are putting together a serious lineup that doesn’t require serious money to attend. We have love for the people! W: Has reggae music become more socially acceptable in recent years in your opinion? WRAF: In these times and what lies ahead Reggae music is SO
needed. The people want and need it. Therefore it is accepted and will become more accepted as time goes on! Trust!!
kind!!
ONE LOVE!
W: YOU MEAN ITS FREE??? WTH????
W: When is local artists from Austin “Huerta Culture” performing?
WRAF: Yessir! Badges? We don’t need no stinkin’ badges!! Come support the local (and not so local) Reggae scene! Additional note: Please purchase artist merch, support our vendors and tip our hardworking bartenders!
W: Great job Episode Phive! We are glad to be Media Sponsors for this event. Any final thoughts to WEIRD MAGAZINE readers regarding your event?
WRAF: Huerta Culture performs on Friday, March 16. Check wildfirereggaefest.com for the schedule! W: So HOW MUCH does it cost to attend? WRAF: Yeah...about that Russell..it is FREE & ALL AGES!! As far as Reggae Festivals (in Austin) go...we are one of a
WRAF: LOVE THY REGGAE!!!
2012 Texas Marijuana March dential candidate & former New Mexico Governor, Gary Johnson.
2012 Texas
Marijuana March By Josh Schimberg Executive Director, Texas NORML The Global Marijuana March is an annual, worldwide, marijuana legalization protest the first Saturday of May, held in hundreds of cities every year with hundreds of thousands of activists participating globally. Austin was one of 25 other cities around the globe participating in the inaugural Global Marijuana March, on Saturday, May 1, 1999, and the following year on May 6th, 2000, organizers of Austin’s “Millennium Marijuana March” estimated that two thousand people were in attendance. In 2002 the march in Austin was called “Liberation Day”, but unfortunately the event went on hiatus for a few years after the 2003 March. Then, in 2008 the march in Austin came back with renewed energy as the Texas Cannabis Crusade, which included an all day festival at Zilker Park, and had a solid three year run. The Cannabis Crusade brought in musical acts from around the country, and garnered media attention from several outlets in Austin. In 2011 with an increased focus on political activism, and a new name, the Texas Marijuana March brought several nationally known high profile speakers to Austin including NORML Live Show host/producer & National NORML’s Chapter Outreach Coordinator, Russ Belville, musician & professional sports star, Greta Gaines, and Presi-
The Texas Marijuana March in Austin has evolved over the years, and in 2012 Texas NORML will be focusing again on political activism, and also the need for medical marijuana in Texas. Featured speakers for the 2012 Texas Marijuana March will include Waco NORML founder & Candidate for Texas House of Representatives District 56, Clif Deuvall, Sam Houston State University Professor, Dr. Kenneth Hendrickson, and The Austin 420 Executive Editor & Texas NORML Patient Liaison, Vincent Lopez. On Cinco de Mayo 2012, the Texas Marijuana March will, as in year’s past, begin with a march through the streets of downtown Austin, up to the Capitol’s South Steps. In previous years, the march route has been as short as a few blocks, as in 2011, up to several blocks as in 2000 & 2010, and as long as 2.5 miles from Zilker Park, in 2008-2009.
This year, the march will begin at noon in front of Austin City Hall, with just a single turn to make up Congress Ave. Live music will be played at the Capitol by singer/songwriter, RPD, whose self-styled “cage free country crossover” music will evoke thoughts of the Red Headed Stranger and Rasta blues. Texas NORML over the years has poured many thousands of dollars into making the Texas Marijuana March happen, and pushing the issue of marijuana
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legalization into the public eye as often as possible. Texas NORML is a non-profit organization that has always been run by dedicated, and unpaid, volunteers who are committed to seeing an end to cannabis prohibition. So, events like this would not be possible without the grassroots support, membership, and media coverage that Texas NORML has grown over the past 7 years. In order to see the fight all the way through to victory, there must be continued growth and recruitment of even more activists and stakeholders willing to fight so that the argument for legalization is made as widely as possible in the public sphere; and that it is done with the utmost respect and professionalism. Texas is not easy turf for NORML and other marijuana law reform organizations. MPP has long ago halted their former funding for medical marijuana in Texas, so it is now up to NORML, Drug Policy Forum of Texas, the Texas Hemp Campaign, and the Texas Coalition for Compassionate Care to work on this issue. And progress has been made in terms of getting people in the public mobilized to take action. Although we didn’t see anything substantive come from it, in 2011 we had one of the best years ever for political action on marijuana law reform in Texas, with several thousand emails, letters, and calls made in support of medical marijuana and decriminalization. But if we hope to see any movement in the Texas legislature, we must increase the number of people willing to speak out on it. We must increase, and keep up the pressure on our elected officials, because Texas citizens do not have the option of changing laws through voter ballot initiative. Instead of just several thousand contacts of legislators, we need to work towards tens or hundreds of thousands, and keep those numbers up every legislative session until the legislature makes the changes we are demanding. We also need to have our members and supporters informed about who in the legislature does or does not support what NORML is working towards. It is imperative that the legislators in Texas who make decisions regarding state laws will be willing to vote yes on medical marijuana, and
Presents
on marijuana decriminalization or even legalization. It’s the only way we can change laws in this state. The goal of the Texas Marijuana March is to bring as many people as possible to the Texas Capitol to demand significant change in our marijuana laws, and that means we need everyone who reads this to consider talking to friends & family about the issue. We need everyone who reads this to seriously consider making a trip to Austin on Saturday, May 5th, 2012, Cinco de Mayo, and take part in the Texas Marijuana March. We need to see many thousands of people on the South Steps of the Capitol calling for legalization. If you are not near Austin, talk to people around you to see if others
are interested in carpooling/ caravanning to Austin on May 5th, so that the Texas Marijuana March will make the maximum possible impact. If you can’t make it, then you should consider making a donation to, or becoming a member of, Texas NORML or your local NORML chapter. Ask yourself what you can do to help with the cause, and make a commitment to do it. The Texas Marijuana March on Saturday, May 5th, 2012, at the Texas State Capitol in Austin, needs you there, and so do all of the cannabis consumers in Texas!
Fayuca: SXSW Dates and Wildfire Shjw Weird Magazine: How long has the band been together now?
W: Welcome to Weird Magazine this Spring. Congrats on your success of the new album! FAYUCA: Thank you for being a part of it all! Weird Magazine: Introduce the band members. FAYUCA: Gabo, I play Guitar and sing for Fayuca. I’m Raf, I play drums for Fayuca. Hi, I’m the bass player and my name is Cisco. Weird Magazine: What shows are you per-
forming at here in Austin for SXSW? FAYUCA: We kick off our SXSW CRAZINESS on March 15th at the Wildfire Reggae & Arts Festival at Ruta Maya where we are co-headlining with HR of Badbrains. We are also playing at TX Rock Fest on March 16th at Noon on the main stage. Then we jet to Hole In Wall to play the Echo Cloud Showcase at 5:40pm... Then we come back on Sunday the 18th to claim our High Times Magazine Doobie Award for “Best Underground Artist of 2012”! We will stay pretty busy this time around
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FAYUCA: Maaaan!! We started playing in 2001 in Raf’s back yard. We were confused little slugger’s then; we would blend sounds of Nirvana, Sublime, Mana, Stained...etc... It was horrible haha!! We finally found ourselves and released our first record in 2004. We like to consider 2003/2004 our starting point...everything before that was just a big ol’ mess! Weird Magazine: What part of Arizona are you guys from? FAYUCA: We grew up in West Phoenix (THE HOOD). We used to walk to practice everyday by taking the back alleys and short cut through the canal! We all went to high school together and lived conveniently close to each other.
Weird Magazine: Lets talk about the music, what genre best describes Fayuca? PUNK ROCK/ REGGAE / SKA/ PUNK? FAYUCA: Maybe... Its a blend of that and everything in between. We’re a mixture of Reggae, Punk-Rock, and Latin Ska. Our Pandora Station throws us in with Sublime, RX Bandits, Expendables, Slightly Stoopid, Maldita Vecindad, Manu Chao... etc Weird Magazine: What are some of your influences? FAYUCA: We take influence from all over the world. Gabriel was born in Puerto Rico and grew up on the East Cost; his influences range from Manu Chao and Cultura Profetica to Sublime and Mars Volta. Ciso is all about Reggae/ Dub and
rock classics like CCR or The Beatles. Raf takes influence from bands like Maldita Vecindad, Los Pericos, RX Bandits, 311...etc We have all been raised very close to our Latin roots... We are all fans of classic Cumbia, Salsa and Bachata; you can definitely hear hints of a Latin swing in our music!
Weird Magazine: Why the name Fayuca? FAYUCA: Fayuca is the Mexican slang word for contraband or the black market. “La Fayuca” is a market, similar to a swap meet, where you can get anything and everything you desire.. Its so gangster haha! The named seemed to fit us when we started the band because we would swap sounds and mix genres from all over the world... sorta like a “Fayuca”! The name stuck and so we kept it!
Fayuca: SXSW Dates and Wildfire Shjw Raf: Fito Olivares Weird Magazine: What CD is in your car or truck or Van right now? FAYUCA: Hahaha!!! We have the oddest collection of music in out van... Let me see... Curley Taylor, Stick Figure, State Radio, Los Angeles De Charlie, Passafire, Authority Zero, and Fayuca... Is it weird to bump your own music!?! Weird Magazine: What are you guys listening to these days? FAYUCA:Gabo: I have our new single on repeat... to be honest.... I alternate between my Pericos Play list and Bright Eyes. Cisco: Stick Figure’s “Smoke Stacks” has not left my CD Player in weeks.
Weird Magazine: Well, we look forward to having you guys back at the Ruta Maya this month. What can we expect from your show this year? FAYUCA: The best show of your life!!! We have new tunes we love playing... expect a lot of energy on stage and dancing in the crowd... Expect a few curse words and a couple mediocre jokes... Come out to Wildfire... I think we play around 9 or 10! Its all ages and FREE! Weird Magazine: YES FREE. BTW Congrats on the Doobie nomination.
Is there a ritual before each performance? FAYUCA: Thanks! Ummmm... We take a few shots, pound a couple beers...Warm up our hands and vocal chords and keep our fingers crossed that our amps don’t blow up on stage! Weird Magazine: What will you do with a Doobie award if you guys win? FAYUCA: Put it to good use ;) Weird Magazine: Thanks guys.
FAYUCA: See you in Austin, for the Doobie Awards, and at Wildfire Reggae Festival!
Thanks to Weird Magazine for all the support! Tell all your buddies about Fayuca and tell em to like us on Facebook!
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MUD DOCTORS so fast that I’m just trying not to get thrown off the train. Weird Mag: Tell us about your gigs in March or for SXSW that you have coming up. MUD DOCTORS: We’re playing Rockin’ Tomato Saturday March 3rd at 10 p.m. I’m taking my wife and daughter to Big Bend during SXSW. I’ll leave it to the rest of you to enjoy it. I’m thinking that the larger gigs will come after our record “Time is a Mushroom” gets listened to a bit. It will be out any day now. Recently I hung out with local Rockers Mudd Doctors and man these guys rock. And I f you need legal advice, frontman David Komie can offer his council. Here is my interview with this up and coming talent. I submit Exibit A - The Mudd Doctors! Weird Magazine:
Welcome to Weird Magazine David, Tell us a little about your Band The Mudd Doctors? MUD DOCTORS: We’re four dudes without egos who have a unique musical chemistry together. Weird Magazine: I have seen your recent commercial on TV pretty cool to represent clients in the Austin area in legal matters and still Jam out with your band!
MUD DOCTORS: The songs seem to come from the ether. Most of the songs have written themselves and I wonder myself sometimes where they come from. If we have the misfortune of becoming rich and famous I’ll probably join the camp that credits Jesus, Mary, Jehovah or the reincarnation of dead rock stars ...ha... Eric Tussing is a great songwriter. I’d actually like to hear his answer to this question. Weird Magazine: Name some influences of yours? MUD DOCTORS: My main influences are life experiences such as foster homes, an abusive childhood, no safety net followed my happy marriage and child. Musically, at the risk of sounding self indulgent I’d say: Lyrically - Dylan, the Beatles, the Doors,
Weird Magazine: Why the name Mud Doctors? MUD DOCTORS: I actually misheard a Bob Dylan outtake of Just Like Tom Thumb Blues where he sings “my best friend my doctor won’t even say what it is I got” and I thought he said mud doctor and I thought it was cool. Mud Doctor is also slang for a bone rattlin’ witch doctor or a crappy doctor who commits malpractice a lot ... haha Weird Magazine: How did
the Law Firm and Music all come together for you? Were you influenced by space aliens to Rock out the live Music Capitol of the World and also defend Austinites in the process? Are we warm?
MUD DOCTORS: Have they come together for me? haha ...sometimes it seems like the days and weeks just whip by
PASTE OFA TAG HERE
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MUD DOCTORS: Our first gig was December 26,2010.,
We’re on facebook, reverb nation and we have our own website muddoctors.com, blah, blah. They can also email ourmanagerHaleyForsyth at booking@muddoctors.com.
Weird Mag: Best legal songs written by David Komie, except Bad Girl (Eric Tussing), Weird Mag: What doAllyou advice you& N.Daugherty). have for Rock Years Away (Komie think about the local mu-Light LyricsFans @ davidalankomie.blogspot.com in Austin? sic scene in Austin now Mastering & art by B.L. (reverbnation.com/roninb) Engineering by Jared Hall that you have been apart MUDmuddoctors.com DOCTORS: of it for a while? MUD DOCTORS: To be honest I don’t get out much anymore except to see my friend’s bands once in a while. I started playing guitar late in life so I don’t feel I have the liberty to take too many nights off to watch other people play. Also, I Bonobo like to play and writeFiremonkey in a vacuum Green Bass, Vox without much outside influence. Weird Mag: How can folks get in touch with you guys to book you for a show or private party?
Time is a mushroom
I’m surrounded by top notch people. My law partner Chris Morrow is an old friend of mine with a great sense of humor. We help people and have fun doing it. My bandmates Eric Tussing, Lothar and Bonobo Firemonkey Green are great friends, great musicians and great people. Without that kind of support I
Weird Magazine: Tell us about your music? Some of your songs are trippy, spacey, and curious; where does this creativity come from? “Barbarians on Speed” or” Little Blue Man” “will GOD sit alone” and “Time is a Mushroom” are a few examples of the Weirdness.
Weird Mag: How long have the Mud Doctors been together?
MUD DOCTORS:
As your attorney I advise you to listen to, and come see the Mud Doctors.
Lothar Drums
MUD DOCTORS
MUD DOCTORS:
couldn’t succeed.
the Stones and anything with a lot of intelligence. Vocally - Ian Astbury, Jim Morrison, Dan McCafferty, Harry Nilsson, Richard Butler, John Lennon, Mike Ness and more recently, Jack White. Guitar - Eddie Van Halen, Johnny Ramone, Josh Homme, Greg Ginn, Jack White and Paul Leary to name a few. By the way I think Paul Leary should produce our next record ..haha.
MUD DOCTORS Time is a Mushroom
Komie Vox, Guitar
Tussing Guitar, Vox
$3.50 each or 0.99¢ wholesale. Call for custom stickers 877-873-9626
Azerbaijan: The missing link for Neo-Con war with Iran By Cameron Cutrone Azerbaijan: The missing link for Neo-Con war with Iran by Cameron Cutrone freedome-files.blogspot.com Azerbaijan is a fascinating country. It’s situated in what seems to be the center of the world. The Islamic Republic of Iran borders it to the south. Armenia, the oldest Christian country in the world, borders it to the west. And Russia, overshadowing it to the northeast. For those who play chess, controlling the middle of the board is a very high priority. For the globalists and powerhungry who view the world like a chessboard, Azerbaijan is critical. For the rest of us, it remains largely unnoticed. Albeit below the radar, Azerbaijan has enjoyed a relative boom over the last decade. While some remain suspicious of it’s oil baron class, it is because of them that it’s middle class has nearly doubled in the last decade. Many of these newly middle class families are enjoying better schools, roads, hospitals, and work environment. This is all due to a massive influx of foreign investment. Everyone wants to do business there right now, but most notably Russia, Iran, and the United States. Pretty amazing. It can be a place where otherwise political and military rivals can be competitors economically. Unfortunately, with big business and big government
so intertwined, it makes for a pretty high stakes competition. When political interests are involved, the granting of an oil drilling contract to a particular company over another can send very heavy signals, even if it wasn’t meant to. For example, let’s say Azerbaijan chooses BP, a British company, to build a pipeline. Gazprom, a Russian company, may have been the second highest bidder. “Oh well”, one might say, “Gazprom will live to fight another day.” If only things could be that simple. With politics and business married as happily as they are, more is read into this than just a simple transaction such as the one submitted. One political policy nerd might be jumping for joy screaming “Hooray! Azerbaijan is westernizing!” Or perhaps some stalwart in the Kremlin is wringing his hands fuming, “I can’t believe we’re losing our influence in Azerbaijan!” This mindset is dangerous and misguided, and there are so many elites in the US who share it.
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Think about this for a moment. Azerbaijan is on Iran’s northern border. To Iran’s east is occupied Afghanistan. To Iran’s west is Iraq, with thousands of supposedly “non-combat” US troops and a puppet regime. To the south, Iran is faced with another giant US military base in Qatar, with several US naval vessels on it’s way presumably to control the Strait of Hormuz. For Iranians, the message is clear: YOU ARE SURROUNDED! The only tiny bit of breathing room is in the north, Azerbaijan. Pretty soon, someone from the State Department, maybe Hillary Clinton, will be knocking on Azerbaijan’s door... “Hey, do you like all the new-found wealth you enjoy due to foreign investment? Well, let us put a base up, or maybe even just use a landing strip for our strategic interests. I would hate to see your infrastructure crumble.” I’m sure during the press conference it’ll all be talk of “human rights” and “shared values.” But right now, scaring the crap out of Iran is at the front of our government’s mind.
All at the expense of our real national interests like peace, commerce, and honest friendship. Let’s assume these sociopaths overplay their hand. They always do. This could seriously affect our already strained relations with Russia. And we wonder why Putin is tightening control in Russia and doing more business in Iran. And we wonder why Iran is acting defensive right now. I wonder why we’re still borrowing billions of dollars a day to prop up an empire, longing for a republic, with honest friendships instead of bribery. A growing economy instead of stagnation. That’s the Azerbaijani...I mean the American way, right? Cameron Cutrone’s articles are archived at freedome-files. blogspot.com -----------------------------------EDITORS NOTE: “The momentum of Asia’s economic development is already generating massive pressures
for the exploration and exploitation of new sources of energy and the Central Asian region and the Caspian Sea basin are known to contain reserves of natural gas and oil that dwarf those of Kuwait, the Gulf of Mexico, or the North Sea.” -Zbigniew Brzezinski (p.125) The Grande Chessboard 96’. Available at Brave New Books.
America�s War on Latin America I Mean Drugs) - By Jamie Balagia I thought it just about imposIsible for our national leaders to put a larger part of their foot in their mouths I see this article. I included it in its entirety so that you could read it and not think I was stoned when I wrote my thoughts in this piece:
of convincing a bunch of frustrated foreign leaders that the sickness and death presently surrounding them was caused by something other than the one thing that’s obviously causing it. It’s a ridiculous situation that lends itself to some really ridiculous arguments, such as Napolitano preposterously comparing Mexican Drug Kingpin Joaquin “Shorty” Guzman to Osama Bin Laden: “It took us 10 years to find (al Qaeda chief) Osama bin Laden and we found him, and you know what happened there,” Napolitano said. Yeah, but the fact that these drug lords are as slippery as Osama f#$king Bin Laden ought not to inspire confidence. Seriously, I don’t even know what her point is supposed to be, because it’s gotta be pretty damn obvious to Latin American leaders that we don’t have enough SEAL teams to track down and kill every wannabe drug boss all over the globe. Their services, unlike Bin Laden’s, are actually popular with much of the American public.
U.S. Tells South America to Shut Up About Legalizing Drugs - Scott Morgan from stopthedrugwar.org on February 28, 2012 [I endorse stopthedrugwar.org] Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano has a message for everyone who thinks the drug war is bad: you’re wrong, it’s awesome. (Reuters) – Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano defended Washington’s drug war strategy on Monday despite calls by some Latin American leaders to consider decriminalizing narcotics. … “I would not agree with the premise that the drug war is a failure,” Napolitano said. “It is a continuing effort to keep our peoples from becoming addicted to dangerous drugs.” [Reuters] Okay, but what do these two sentences have to do with one another? Yes, we know the drug war is “a continuing effort to keep our peoples from becoming addicted to dangerous drugs [and marijuana],” but I don’t understand what that has to do with whether or not it’s been a failure. This is like saying, “I would not agree with premise that asbestos is toxic. It is a material used to insulate buildings.” So in a metaphorical sense, you could say that American drug policy is made of asbestos, and Janet Napolitano has been given the fun assignment
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Calls for legalization in Latin America are going to get louder the longer this idiocy continues, and it should surprise no one that the U.S. government’s latest attempts to suppress it are utterly and predictably devoid of substance as always. [END OF STORY]
Unbelievable is about all I can say after reading the article again. So the “War on Drugs” is not a failure according to steel boot wearing U.S.A.G. Napoitano and her life long career government employees. I was thinking perhaps if she would take the time to visit any State prison in America and start counting the young men incarcerated for drug crimes. Hopefully, she won’t overlook the abundance of minorities in the prison drug population or the overall level of poverty among drug prisoners of all races. If the WOD means we are continuing to fill our prisons (soon to be privatized in growing numbers) with young men (and increasingly with women) then she is right on. And here is a related story on that issue from Atlanta: Channel 2 investigation highlights racial discrepancies in marijuana arrests - (Atlanta) — A Channel 2 Action News investigation revealed that across the state, African-Americans are arrested on marijuana possession charges significantly more often than whites. “That is just a bad practice of applying the law unequally, that is, you are singling out a seg-
ment of the population,” said state Sen. Ed Harbison. “That’s just wrong. I don’t care how you cover it up, how you try to color it.” Channel 2 looked at the total number of arrests for possession charges and compared the racial breakdowns to census data. For metro Atlanta agencies that made over 100 arrests, Channel 2 isolated nine agencies that had the highest discrepancies between the African-American population and the number of arrests they made. The agency with the highest number was the Atlanta Police Department. Last year, 93 percent of all marijuana possession arrests in the city of Atlanta were African-Americans, and 7 percent were white. The city’s population is 54 percent African-American and 38 percent white. “This is a difficult issue that is far more complex than numbers can illustrate. I can assure you however, that the Atlanta Police Department is in no way, shape, form or fashion racially profiling,” Atlanta police spokesman Carlos Campos told Channel 2. Reverend C.L. White, president of the Atlanta Chapter of the NAACP, called it atrocious to have an arrest rate so high compared to the population. “That is profiling at its worst. You don’t have to have done anything, if they just suspect you might have done it as you look like someone who might do, than you are apt to be pulled over,” said White. Channel 2 spoke to a man who asked to be identified only as Greg, felt that was exactly what happened to him. Greg told Channel 2 he felt he was racially profiled in Douglas County, where 66 percent of all those arrested for possession of marijuana are AfricanAmerican. “I really felt like he saw me and just felt like, ‘Oh, here’s a criminal. Let me go get him,’” said Greg END OF STORY] If WOD means the further erosion of basic Constitutional Rights protecting us from unlawful searches and seizures then she is right on. I would never have believed that we would have drones flying over San Antonio (Google) to keep a constant recorded tag on our citizens. The Supreme Court
just ruled that the FBI had to remove 3000 tracking devices from vehicles in our country that were placed on the vehicle without a warrant. So they will be very busy getting 3000 warrants over the next short while. We also have exigent entry without warrants if a police officer thinks he smells marijuana burning inside your apartment or home. I suppose they will start approaching homes and taking a big snort of air flowing out the bottom of the doorways. It seems like the courts are bending over backwards to erode the Constitutional protections we studied in school. Then there’s the idea that individuals that are involved in the drug trade should be hunted down and shot, like OBL deservedly was, makes one think of the horror stories that used to come out of the Soviet Union gulags. Where do our politicians get the idea that they can continue to dictate foreign policy to the point that we rule the countries to the south of us. And of course the war is on drugs which includes marijuana. We know that our country has been conducting ‘Elimination Programs” in Central and South America for decades. The Mexican government is labeled corrupt by our leaders but they still allow the U.S. to run “hunt down and kill” missions against drug cartel members within its borders. I wonder how the Mexican citizens feel about that? We are all aware that if our government wanted to guarantee that the Cartels would lose 60% of their profits overnight all we have to do is decriminalize marijuana in the USA. But instead, the Obama Administration under the boot heal of Eric Holder is making federal arrests in State’s where the citizens have approved Medicinal Marijuana programs. The Feds are busting dispensaries and local “Mom and Pop” shops that are supplying much needed medicines, prescribed by licensed doctors, to patients that are now suffering. To think that our leaders promote the policies that encourage the addictive use of hard core narcotic pain medications instead of marijuana (MMJ) to our neighbors is sickening. Let’s see, do we want grandma hammering down synthetic heroin product or taking a toke or two to relieve her never ending pain. You should also take the time to Google and read about the advances that MMJ is making to delaying the effects of dementia and other memory loss diseases. The quote about our govern-
ment’s “continuing effect to keep our peoples from becoming addicted to dangerous drugs” just about made me gag.
I know a little about drug treatment programs and nowhere in the thirty day programs is there a section on how the WOD helps someone stay sober. I say that because of the WOD we have more citizens becoming addicted to hard core drugs. I have previously written about how the current law enforcement attacks on pot smokers forces many of them to go to hard drug distributors to purchase marijuana. If you have to go to where the hard drugs are being sold to buy pot it is more likely that you are exposed to hard drugs. The more exposure to hard drugs the more likely to try hard drugs for some people. Some people that try hard drugs are more likely to become addicted to them than if there were legal sources of marijuana. This makes a lot of sense to me but perhaps you are more inclined to follow the government’s thinking - Just Say No! How’s that working for us so far? Yeah, like I said.
I keep bringing up some of these issues month after month because that is one way to get people to get involved in the issue of where our nation’s efforts should be directed. If some of you would actually write your senators and congress members it might start to chip away at the ignorance involved in the WOD policy. If those of you who support our president would call and write him and declare your anger and disgust with his lack of leadership in stopping the WOD it would make a difference. If you would call his office and remind him that he promised that the Feds would leave the State’s MMJ programs alone. President Obama and his administration has done more to damage MMJ than President “W” ever did. Most of the advances in the MMJ issue were made during Bush’s administration - how does that make you feel? Lastly, I once again ask those of you that agree with me to start talking about these issues and make them part of our political discourse. Let your neighbors, coworkers, family and friends know that you support the legalization (or at least the decriminalization) of marijuana. Tell them
you want our government to stop arresting users of marijuana. Tell them it is time to stop the War on American Citizens.
Jamie Balagia jamie@dwidude.com
Spying on the Saucer Writers By Nick Redfern
DAWN OF THE NEW MILLENNIA
“It is author Edwards’ contention that UFOs are space vehicles sent to observe activities on earth and the Air Force, which is charged with the responsibility of investigating UFOs, has deliberately withheld information and given misleading explanations because it was fears a mass panic by the public if the public were told the truth.
Spying on the Saucer Writers By Nick Redfern
On a fairly frequent basis, I get asked if I think there could be one or more “secret government files” on me. Well, as someone who writes about UFOs in terms of what officialdom knows about the subject, I can never say for sure that such files do not exist. And, one of the reasons for this is that the Freedom of Information Act has clearly demonstrated that certain authors of books on the UFO subject have indeed been secretly watched by officialdom – even to the extent of having their books reviewed by government agencies! Although not widely known, the FBI has on various occasions taken more than a passing interest in monitoring publications on the UFO subject. To illustrate this, June 1966 saw the first printing by Lyle Stuart Publishers of Frank Edwards’ book, Flying Saucers – Serious Business. By October of that year, Edwards’ book was in its third printing. On 16 October, it was announced in the This World supplement of the San Francisco-based newspaper The Examiner & Chronicle that the Congressional Representative of Michigan (and later US President) Gerald Ford, was pressing for Congress to look into the UFO matter.
It was also announced that the US Air Force had commissioned a University of Colorado physics professor named Edward U. Condon to conduct an in-depth study of unidentified flying objects. An FBI memo of 19 October 1966 stated: “…The [This World] article also points out that since last summer pressure has been mounting for the establishment of an independent, civilian controlled investigative agency to look into the UFO problem…[Edwards’ book] is probably a contributing factor to the current controversy.” That both Edwards and his book were of interest to the FBI is something spelled out further in the 3-page Bureau document of 19 October, which – given its significance and relevance – I will quote at length: “In [Flying Saucers – Serious Business] Edwards points out that flying saucers were observed in the spring of 1946, in Scandinavia and Russia (which he points out is about a year from the date of the testing of the Alamogordo atomic bomb), and the book documents many reports throughout the world of UFOs since that date, and claims that 1965 was the year of the greatest number of UFO sightings and that these were observed by multiple witnesses.
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“The book describes UFOs as polished metal objects, radiating heat and light (sufficient to have burned witnesses who were too near), and emitting some force field that interferes with electromagnetic instruments and power sources. Colors range from brilliant white to dull reds and brilliant orange. Some objects have carried blinking lights. There are three basic shapes: 1) Zeppelin-shaped ships up to 300 feet long; 2) disk-shaped objects ranging from a few feet in diameter to 100 feet, with many reported at about 30 feet diameter; and 3) egg-shaped objects, which according to the author are the ones most recently sighted. “According to the book, the objects move silently and attain fantastic speeds, yet can hover motionless in mid-air; they have been reported to land and take off with great speed, usually with a burst of light from the underside, which in some cases has left the ground beneath them scorched. “Many of the persons named in the book who have reported them are reliable individuals, including law enforcement officers, military personnel on official duty, military pilots, commercial airline pilots, civilian defense officials, etc. A number of photographs of the objects have been reproduced in the book, some reportedly taken by reputable persons. Many reported sightings are from atomic and missile research areas.
“Wreckage of crashed saucers has been reportedly recovered on at least three occasions, in one case described as a magnesium alloy, in another as pure magnesium, and in a third case, attributed to an official of the Canadian government, the material was described as an exceptionally hard unknown metal, actually a matrix of magnesium orthosilicate which contained thousands of 15-micron spheres throughout, and showing evidence of micrometeorites on its surface.
“A few witnesses have reported seeing crewmen who have landed from the objects, who are described as three and a half to four feet tall, wearing what appear to be space suits and helmets.” The FBI noted, in their final words on the matter: “Author Edwards concludes this book with a prediction that in the near future UFOs will make an ‘overt landing’ or deliberate contact with earth. A copy of this letter is being directed to Denver, in view of the contract to Dr. Edward U. Condon. The above is being called to the Bureau’s attention in view of the press report of mounting pressure for a civilian controlled investigative agency to handle UFO matters.”
Having discussed the issue of UFOs with a number of journalists in the mainstream media, I know that many view the hypothesis that government and intelligence agencies are taking an interest in the activities of civilian UFO researchers as little more than paranoia. Yet, as the remarkably detailed document cited above makes clear, those of us that enter the field of UFO research and begin publishing the details of our discoveries, can expect to soon attract the attention of the official world. Source: Mysterious Universe