Nick Pope: Britain's X-Files

The British government has just started to release its archive of UFO files, following a precedent set by the French government in 2007. 160 files are to be released, including some from the ultra-secretive Defence Intelligence Staff. Why is this material being released now? What's in the files? What might this mean for the US government? Nick Pope used to run the UK's UFO project and will discuss the file release and its wider implications.

Nick Pope used to run the British Government's UFO project at the Ministry of Defense. Initially skeptical, his research and investigation into the UFO phenomenon and access to formerly classified government files on the subject soon convinced him that the phenomenon raised important defence and national security issues, especially when the witnesses were military pilots or where UFOs were tracked on radar. Nick also looked into other mysteries such as alien abductions, crop circles and ghosts. He now continues his research in a private capacity and is recognized as a leading authority on UFOs and the unexplained. He does extensive media work, lectures all around the world and has acted as consultant on numerous television documentaries.

Leslie Kean: An inside look at the November, 2007 International Press Conference and at the latest developments in the NASA lawsuit

Leslie Kean will present the strategy behind the November 12, 2007 press conference in Washington, DC, and comment on the outcome. Moderated by former Arizona Governor Fife Symington, the event featured high level military, aviation and government officials from around the world. Dramatic excerpts from the presentations will be shown, along with an overview of media coverage. Kean will also provide an update on her unprecedented Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against NASA, settled last fall, requiring NASA to provide hundreds of documents related to the Kecksburg UFO case. John Podesta, former Chief of Staff for President Clinton, who has supported this effort since 2002, described her victory as "a triumph for open government and the spirit of inquiry."

Leslie Kean is an investigative reporter who has published widely in national and international mainstream media. Since 2000, when she released her story on the COMETA report in the Boston Globe, her ongoing reporting has focused on providing serious, well-documented coverage of the UFO issue. Kean is a co-founder of the Washington-based Coalition for Freedom of Information (www.freedomofinfo.org), and is the plaintiff in a landmark lawsuit filed against NASA in 2002 attempting to acquire documents on the Kecksburg UFO crash case. She is now combing through hundreds of new documents from NASA’s files. With filmmaker James Fox, Kean co-organized and produced a landmark international press conference in Washington, DC in November, 2007. She is currently assisting Fox with his new film, and working with another independent film company on a second UFO documentary.

Wilfried De Brouwer: A UFO Wave over Belgium

 The presentation will provide an overview of the so-called Belgian UFO wave which took place from November 1989 until April 1991, including the discussion of the most important sightings, the analysis of a UFO photograph and the actions which were taken by the Belgian Air Force.

Wilfried De Brouwer, Major General, Retired. After spending 20 years as a fighter pilot, he was appointed to the Strategic Planning Branch in NATO while a Colonel in 1983. He then became Wing Commander of the Belgian Air Force Transport Wing and, in 1989, chief of the Operations Division in the Air Staff. It was in this function that he was confronted with the Belgian UFO wave. Promoted to Major General in 1991, he became Deputy Chief of Staff of the Belgian Air Force, in charge of Operations, Planning and Human Resources. General De Brouwer retired in 1995 and subsequently worked more than ten years as consultant in the United Nations to improve the UN Logistics rapid response capabilities during emergencies.

Dr. Richard Haines: Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon and Aviation Safety

Dr. Richard Haines will  discuss the impact of unidentified aerial phenomena and it's potential adverse affects on aircraft flight systems and the potential safety hazards to the global aviation community. He will present his research on several aviation related international cases.

Born and raised in Seattle, Washington, Dr. Haines attended the University of Washington (college of engineering; 1955-1957), Pacific Lutheran College (BA, Psychology; 1960), and Michigan State University (MA, 1962; Ph.D. Experimental Psychology/Physiology; 1964).  His fields of research over the years have included vision, human perception, psychophysics, human factors, and physiology. He has authored more than 60 scientific articles and is the author of such books as:  Justifications and Philosophy of the Space Age (1962); UFO and the Behavioral Scientist (1979); Observing UFOs (1980); Melbourne Episode: Case Study of a Missing Pilot (1987); Advanced Aerial Devices Reported During the Korean War (1990); Night Flying (1992); Project Delta (1994); and Close Encounters of the Fifth Kind (1999).

Haines retired from a long career with NASA as a research scientist in 1988 (he has contributed to the U. S. Gemini and Apollo Projects, Skylab, Space Station, and various aeronautical research projects over the years). Subsequently he worked as a Sr. Research Scientist for the Research Institute for Advanced Computer Science, RECOM Technology, Inc., and Raytheon Corp. at NASA-Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California until 2001 when he retired for the last time. He enjoys photography, writing, researching so-called anomalous atmospheric phenomena, travelling, and thinking well outside the “box.” He has been married forty-seven years and has two daughters and three grandchildren. He now lives with his wife Carol in northern Washington state.

Don Ledger: Pilots Encounters over Canada

This pilot has long been concerned about what complications may arise as a result of a close encounter with a UAP. Don Ledger will present two cases he has been either directly involved with or researched from documents. He will address his reasons why the comfort zone each pilot likes to see around the aircraft he commands could impact aircraft and passenger safety when this zone is threatened. He will look at the problems that might arise from any deep seated concerns the pilot[s] might experience during such an encounter and how they might affect the safety of the flight .He has noted that some common safety attributes on many airliners may cause distress to the crew or the passengers of these aircraft.

In closing does the seeming lack of concern by the authorities when the flight crew report UAP add to the stress of the pilots and crew?

Don Ledger is an author and pilot living in Nova Scotia, Canada. He is the author of three books, "Maritime UFO Files" a catalogue of UFO sightings in eastern Canada, "Swissair Down" a detailed look at the crash of Swissair Flight 111 off the coast of Nova Scotia and more recently “Dark Object” co-authored with Chris Styles-which chronicles the Shag Harbour Incident October 4, 1967. He continues to write for magazines and periodicals, more recently for aviation magazines. He has a bi-monthly column in Canadian Aviator Magazine.

Don has been investigating the UFO phenomenon for 20 years and presently concentrates on UFO sightings by pilots. He is the Canadian Affiliate and technical specialist for NARCAP the National Aviation Reporting Center for Anomalous Phenomena. He has appeared in numerous documentaries, television and on radio, lectured at various UFO conferences around North America and has contributed to various periodicals and magazines.

When not writing or investigating UFOs, Don likes to spend his time flying and traveling.

He is retired and presently lives in Molega Lake in Nova Scotia, Canada.

Rodrigo Bravo: Chilean Army Investigates UFOs

Rodrigo Bravo Garrido, Captain and Pilot for the Aviation Army of Chile was assigned in the year 2000 to conduct an internal study titled "Introduction to Anomalous Aerial Phenomenon and their considerations for aerospace security" involving previous case reports of military planes encounters with UFOs. For the last several years he has continued this research on recent and current cases affecting aviation safety in cooperation with the Committee for the Study of Anomalous Aerial Phenomena (CEFAA), a branch of the General Administration of Civil Aeronautics, Chile's FAA.

Rodrigo is a captain and pilot for the Aviation Army of Chile and was one of the participants at the National Press Conference on UFOs held in Washington DC on November 12, 2007.  

Farah Yurdozu: Historic and Current UFO Cases in Turkey

Farah Yurdozu will present an overview of her native country’s UFO history from the year 312 to today including the latest sightings, videos, photographs and testimonies that will vividly bring Turkey’s UFO reality to life.

Farah Yurdozu  is Turkey's first female UFO researcher – writer, and author of several best-selling books in her native land. Fluent in Turkish, English and Spanish, she’s known on several continents as an authority on UFO’s, paranormal and the metaphysical. Now living in the New York City area, Farah continues her work as a UFO researcher, writer and lecturer, and appears in major UFO conferences all over the United States from Roswell to California, Nevada to New York City. She is a columnist for the leading monthly publication UFO Magazine and a journalist/ producer at Jerry Pippin Internet Radio. Though her work reflects a passion for all aspects of the paranormal, her main area of study is abductions and close encounters.

Farah’s latest book “Confessions of a Turkish Ufologist” documents her native land’s 5000-year UFO history as well as her own family’s three-generation history of ET contact.

Jeronimo Flores and Victor Camacho: The Latest UFO Investigations in Mexico

Jeronimo Flores, President and Victor Camacho,Vice President for OMIFO ( Organizacion Mexicana del Investigadores del Fenomeno Ovni) is Mexico's leading civilian UFO organization. They will share videos and photos of their latest investigations throughout the various regions of Mexico and across the border.
 
Jeronimo Flores is a well know UFO researcher and lives in  Nuevo Leon, Monterey, Mexico and belongs to a local UFO organization," Ovni Club of Nuevo Leon" and also hosts a local radio program. Victor Camacho has  been working as a radio host since 1989. He is based in Los Angeles and currentlys hosts the weekly Spanish radio show  the "Desvelados" on UFOs and other enigmas. His audience encompasses the United States, Mexico , Latin America and Europe. 

Ted Roe: Resolving the Current Under-Reporting Bias of Pilots

Ted will be speaking on the history of bias and under-reporting of unidentified aerial phenomena within the US aviation community and will be making some recommendations on how to resolve this problem.

Ted Roe is the Exectutive Director and Co-founder of the National Aviation Reporting Center on Anomalous Phenomena (NARCAP). This organization was established in 2000 to examine and promote the study of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena of all kinds and their effects on aviation safety. He currently resides in Hawaii and is a free diving instructor. 

Dr. Anthony Choy: Extraordinary Videos of UFOs in Peru

Dr. Anthony Choy is a lawyer and founding member of the Air Anomalous Phenomenon Investigation Office (OIFAA), of the Peruvian Air Force. On October 13, 2001 , in the northern city of Chulucanas, eight spheres of light, of an intense red-orange color were flying in an intelligent manner and were recorded on video. On October 25, a luminous tear drop object was recorded over the countryside near the city with small spheres landing in the woods. The Chulucanes video was obtained by OIFAA in 2002 and turned over to the Peruvian Air Force. Dr.Choy was asked to investigate and conducted a three year investigation on the sequence of the sightings and landings of a UFO. In 2003, the Chulucanes case became the first official UFO investigation in Perú to be disclosed by the Air Force. Dr. Choy will be discussing the latest reports and his official involvement and research of the phenomena in Peru.

Dr. Anthony Choy was born in Lima Peru and is a lawyer, author and investigative journalist. He obtained his Masters in Social Communications at the Papal Catholic University of Peru and a Masters in High Management in Defense and Aerospace Development. He authored several books, one titled " Project 33" the first integral study on the UFO phenomenon in Peru. He traveled throughout Peru for about three years, speaking with witnesses, obtaining audio - visual information such as photographs and videos and collecting data for his study. He was also a participant at the National Press Conference on UFOs held in Washington DC on November 12, 2007.

Larry Lemke: Flying Disc Creates Hole in the Cloud at O'Hare Airport

Larry Lemke will discuss his research on the "Hole In Cloud" phenomenon as exemplified in the Chicago O'Hare International Airport on November 7, 2006 case where airport employess reported seeing a saucer shape object hovering over the airport. He will also discuss a nocturnal light UAP case from Hessdalen, Norway.  The Hessdalen case involves 3 witnesses and two independent photos that occurred in the summer of 2000. Larry Lemke was director of research for the International Space Sciences Organization. He was one of the witnesses and photographers.

Larry Lemke is a professional aerospace engineer with more than 25 years of experience as a NASA  employee developing advanced space mission projects.  Prior to working in the space program, he worked as a  research assistant on high energy physics experiments on the Stanford Superconducting Linear Accelerator and as a nuclear reactor operator. He is a licensed private pilot. He has Bachelor degrees in Psychology and Physics (from the University of California Santa Cruz and Portland State University, respectively) and Master of Science and Engineer degrees, both from Stanford University in Aeronautics and Astronautics.  His interest is in applying the process of scientific and engineering analysis to UFO reports to uncover cryptic aspects of the reported phenomena.

George Knapp: Science Confronts Unexplained Events at the Skinwalker Ranch

George Knapp is a 14-time Emmy Award-winning journalist whose reporting on Nevada’s infamous Area 51 military base was selected by UPI as Best Individual Achievement by a Reporter (1989). Other awards include the Associated Press’s Mark Twain Award for news writing and the Edward R. Murrow Award for Investigative Reporting. George is an anchor and reporter for the CBS affiliate KLAS-TV in Las Vegas and he also writes a weekly column for a Las Vegas newspaper.

John Greenwald: Host of the BlackVault.com

John Greenewald hosts the popular website The BlacVault.com. Currently, with over 440,000 pages, The Black Vault is the largest online database of U.S. Government documents in the world. Currently John works both on and off camera producing shows for The History Channel, Discovery Channel, and the National Geographic Channel.