PDFs: Jim Melesciuc's "Orbiter" UFO newsletter (USA, 1980s-1990s)

Further to my post yesterday enquiring about Jim Melesciuc, I have now uploaded all 37 issues of Jim Melesciuc's"Orbiter" newsletter.

This newsletter contained a lot on Gulf Breeze (mainly skeptical) and quite a bit of material by Barry Greenwood, Dr Willy Smith, Christopher D Allan, and others.

The first issue declared an objective of seeking to "clarify the reliable evidence of an important phenmmenon that has recently been clouded by a fog of fringeness and mysticism". Jim Melesciuc wrote in that issue that "the UFO phenomena cannot be explained away - people worldwide are still reporting maneuvering apparently controlled unknown aerial objects".

Subsequent issues included debates of various well-known cases from a range of viewpoints in more depth than most other periodicals - and included more skeptical voices than most UFO newsletters. Those cases included the Gulf Breeze case, the Linda Napolitano case, the MJ12 documents, Flying Triangles (including the triangles reported over Belgium), several "Blue Book Pearls", various claims by Marina Popovich and, of course, Roswell.  

It also included numerous contemporaneous press cuttings about UFOs.

 

PDFs: "Ohio UFO Notebook" (1992-2005) co-founded by Bill Jones, "a virtual encyclopedia of UFO information"

Bill Jones (the founder of Ohio MUFON) was, according to researcher Phyllis Budinger, "a virtual encyclopedia of UFO information". He co-founded the "Ohio UFO Notebook", published from 1992 to 2005.

Early issues were published by the "MidOhio Research Associates" and later issues were published by MUFON Ohio.

A slightly incomplete collection of issues of "Ohio UFO Notebook" has, helpfully, been on the MUFON Ohio website for a while.

Rick Hilberg kindly obtained permission a while ago for me to add MUFON Ohio's publications to my free online UFO archive. 

I've now filled in the gaps in MUFON Ohio's collection of the "Ohio UFO Notebook" (thanks to scanning by the AFU in Sweden) and uploaded a complete set of "Ohio UFO Notebook" to my archive.

"First peer-reviewed" UFO journal - UPIAR now online (1976-1984)

I have now uploaded the "UFO Phenomena an International Annual Review" journal ("UPIAR"), thanks to the efforts of Italian researcher Edoardo Russo in obtaining permission from the council of directors of the UPIAR Cooperative and scanning by the AFU in Sweden.

UPIAR and an associated newsletter (URIP) were published from 1976 to 1984.

Edoardo Russo has described UPIAR as "the first peer-reviewed UFO periodical".

It was later followed by some similar publications, several of which I have previously uploaded - including the Journal of Transient Aerial Phenomena, and the European Journal of UFO and Abduction Studies.

Edoardo helpfully provided the following background on UPIAR:"It was the initiative of CNIFAA (Comitato Nazionale Indipendente per lo studio dei Fenomeni Aerei Anomali), an Italian association based in Bologna. Its editors were Renzo Cabassi, Roberto Farabone, Francesco Izzo, with an international advisors board. After four yearly volumes, a quicker supplement was tried, UPIAR Research in Progress (URIP) under the editorship of Spanish ufologist Vicente-Juan Ballester Olmos (1981-1984). A publishing house was created as a Cooperative society, whose members were all ufologists. It's still existing as a UFO publishing house for the Italian Center for UFO Studies (CISU)".

The international advisory board mentioned by Edoardo included J Allen Hynek, Richard Haines, Bruce Maccabee, David Jacobs and others.

All four volumes of UPIAR are now online.

The first two issues of four issues of the associated newsletter, URIP, are also now online. I hope to sort out the other two issues shortly.

UPIAR also published several monographs about different aspects of UFO research. You can expect some good news about some of those in the near future.  

More French UFO material : 24 issues of the AESV "En Direct" newsletter + 5 more AESV Bulletins

Thanks to Gilles Durand of SCEAU (the French UFO archival group) for the scans and liaising with Yves Bosson to obtain permission, I have now uploaded 5 further issues of the AESV Bulletin (which preceded "OVNI-Presence") and 24 issues of the AESV "En Direct" newsletter.

I have added this material to a folder for French UFO magazines / newsletters.

(I had previously uploaded many issues of the AESV Bulletin, and OVNI-Presence, with Yves Bosson's permission, thanks to scans by Pierre Lagrange and Patrice Seray).

PDFs: 90 issues of skeptical "Phactum" newsletter - Philadelphia Association for Critical Thinking

With kind permission from the Philadelphia Association for Critical Thinking, I have now added searchable PDF copies of 90 issues of their newsletter ("Phactum") to my free online archive of UFO and Fortean material.

As described on the website of the Philadelphia Association for Critical Thinking ("PhACT"), PhACT's mission is "to encourage rational thought and the use of scientific principles ... intended to be an active, hands-on, experimental group.". 

"Phactum" described itself as "the main propaganda organ for the Philadelphia Association for Critical Thinking".

For ease of reference, the skeptical material currently in my online archive is listed below (this material being in addition, of course, to the hundreds of ufological / Fortean newsletters and magazines from other viewpoints that I have uploaded to that archive in recent years thanks to the help of well over 100 UFO groups / researchers around the world and, of course, thanks to permission from the relevant individuals):

(1) "Skeptic UFO Newsletter" by Philip Klass 

(2) John Rimmer's "Magonia" 

(3) Ian Mrzyglod's "Probe"  

(4) Tim Printy's "SUNlite" 

(5) "Tampa Bay Skeptics Report"

(6) "North Texas Skeptic"

(7) "South Shore Skeptic"

(8) "Arizona Skeptic"

(9) "Phoenix Skeptics News" 

(10) "Georgia Skeptics" newsletter

(11) "Bay Area Skeptics Information Sheet" 

(12) "Cincinnati Skeptic"

(13) "REALL News"  (Rational Examination Association of Lincoln Land)

(14) "Skeptical Eye" (National Capital Area Skeptics, NCAS)

(15) "Shadow of a Doubt" (National Capital Area Skeptics, NCAS)

(16) "The Skeptic" (UK)

(17) "Phactum" (Philadelphia Association for Critical Thinking)

(18) The book "Flying Saucerers" by David Clarke and Andy Roberts ("A social history of Ufology")

(19) The book "The UFOs That Never Were" by Jenny Randles, Andy Roberts and David Clarke (in my view arguably the best UFO book in the last 50 years...)

(20)   a PDF archive of about 10,000 pages of Tweets by skeptics Mick West and Charlie Wiser

(21) a PDF archive of over 4 million pages of automated transcripts of UFO podcasts and videos, including those by several skeptics e.g. Mick West.