Professor Michael Sword's UFO Files.

Professor Michael Swords hasn't been posting at his blog for a while but last year he did give us a small peek at his comprehensive UFO file collection which he's hoping to make available to the general public.

The files (about 2000 cases) are based on his own research and investigations by other scientists like Dr James E. Mcdonald and Dr J. Allen Hynek and the process of backing up, digitizing and scanning them all is discussed at the link below.

Just a Piece of "Practical" News

Folks, this is only a "notice" of something that all of us who have spent serious time researching these anomalies [and who have collected files] need to consider. I know most everyone knows this, but if my experience with my personal friends holds true, we don't really do anything about it. This is, of course, the concern over preservation of the phenomenological elements of the subjects [the data], and the human-involvement elements of the subjects [the history], plus the related issue of making these piles of information more widely available to responsible scholars today and in the future..

Link

All good news for future UFO research and in the article 'Wandering In The Wake Of UFOs' there are some nice photos of the archive as well as interesting points made about aspects like the high calibre of UFO witnesses, radar confirmation, electromagnetic interference effects, physiological effects, photographic evidence and CE3 reports (also included is an entertaining and hypothetical discussion with a UFO cynic).

* Apologies for the many posted images but this is an abridged version - full series found at the link.

Wandering In The Wake Of UFOs



"The Trouble with your UFO hobby is that you have no evidence. "

Really?

"Yep. Pretty pathetic given all those years."

I think that there is pretty good evidence.

"Hah! If there was, we'd know about it."

I could show you....

"Don't bother."

There are unusual lights....

" What a joke!"

Well, there are a lot of them... and

That light Captain Hull and his co-pilot saw came in front of them and danced. ...

"Ah Shut-up! Who's Captain Hull? Some drunk?"

No, he's...

"I don't have time for this crap. So long."

Well, if you won't even look....

those non-inertials.... those displays which show 'it' knows exactly where the observers are... the military guys, even scientists/ astronomers...

"Lights in the sky. No more."

Well...

"Forget it, Waste of time... "

Well, he's gone... probably just as well...

Oh yes. No evidence. Technological objects by the dozens seen by aerotech engineers, pilots, people of every sort... Obviously physical, Obviously "built", Obviously "interested....

... no evidence.

Radar.... i guess those don't count.

We all know that radar is a useless technique. After all if it were useful our military would USE it, wouldn't we?

What we could really use would be some cases where the alleged things were close to the witnesses.

Too bad that we don't have any......

... or if the darned things would just leave some trace of their being here.

Too bad that never happens.

Or ANYTHING!! Anything at all! Electrical interference, mass displacement, "burns", paralysis --- ANYTHING!! Give me something!!

I guess we're just out of luck.

What about a picture? How about one by the military or one examined by them? But NOTHING! Nothing at all.

and if there WAS anything to this, you'd think that we'd get a glimpse of who's behind it once in a while.....


Link

For folks further interested in Prof Sword's collection:


Digging to the core:

Digging To The Core - 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / Radar / CE3 / Final

Hey whats with all the great UFO threads lately?
Thanks bud.....

a reply to: karl 12

Karl

So we have a large collection of lore. Tales and stories, some pictures and so what. Why does anyone research UFOs in the first place anymore. There have been active sightings now for almost 70 years and where are we. Still researching. RESEARCHING????? Reading about everybody elses tales. The encounters vary from this type of vehicle to that type of vehicle. Speculation runs the gamut from Martians to inter-dimensional-transcosmic collective consciousness. And where are we now. The same place as we were 70 years ago.

Cameras are now 100 times better than the cameras of back then. And now everybody has them. Back then information was very restricted just by the nature of technology. Now some one can take a picture and within minutes it can be posted around the world.

And what do we get??? Blurry lights in the sky, lights zooming and moving in formation sometimes. No better than 70 years ago.

Do I sound pissed? Yeah, well I am. You know why? Because my first sighting was in 1956 with subsequent sightings a decade later. And where are we now?? Researching researching researching.... Yes I'm pissed. No more research, no more stories from OTHER people. Might as well sit down on our couches and watch reruns of all the various Ancient Aliens episodes for the rest of our lives.

And what pisses me the most Karl, is the time I saw a saucer, not a light but a clear as day saucer flying over my head for almost half a minute. Just flying by. And I waited and watched and hoped and you know what???? I still do not know what I saw or why I saw it. Human secret tech???? I don't know. Aliens from Mars?????????? I don't know.
And so it all comes down to what do I want it to mean. What do YOU want it to mean.

I'm sorry, Karl. I didn't mean to veer your thread off your intentions here it's just that I'm pissed we all haven't' got it figured out yet and all I see coming from research is just more of the same....

That will give ATS a welcomed injection of more UFO evidence to debate. Hopefully there are a few that seem undeniable.

Hey thanks!

I just bookmarked all the pages to dig through... This seems like a treasure-trove of cases!!!

I've never heard of Professor Michael Swords - so I went and looked him up...

BIO - Michael Swords, Ph.D.

Here is an excerpt from the Bio:

Michael D. Swords is a Professor of Natural Science at Western
Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Michigan. He graduated from the
University of Notre Dame in 1962 with a B.S. degree in Chemistry, and
also holds an M.S. degree from Iowa State University in Biochemistry
(1965), and a Ph.D. from Case Western Reserve university (1972).

His major professional and involvements are teaching and writing in
the areas of general sciences and anomalous phenomena. His teaching
centers about human biology, the history and philosophy of science,
scientific methodology, and the "parasciences" of which UFOlogy is a
member. His writings have concentrated mainly on topics in UFOlogy,
parapsychology, and cryptozoology, and several have been published in
the "MUFON UFO Journal". He has won University's Teaching Excellence
Award (1978).

I have to say, your post has perked me up a great deal! I look forward to researching his research as I have time...

NOW - for a tiny little taste from the gagillion case files...

Class "D" (Distant Objects)
1978 - Ludington MI, et al
Strong Credibility

Several Civilian and Coast Guard Personnel on both sides of Lake Michigan. Good CUFOS reporting.

Civilians begin to report object to Coast Guard & Ludington sees lights right around midnight. Closer observation reveals disk-like object, which heads across Lake Michigan. Wisconson station is notified and they see round object with bright lights. Velocity of cross Lake is c. 1200 mph. Object departed straight up.


There are bunches of these! Yay!

Thanks again...

- AB

originally posted by: TerryMcGuire
a reply to: karl 12

Karl

So we have a large collection of lore. Tales and stories, some pictures and so what. Why does anyone research UFOs in the first place anymore. There have been active sightings now for almost 70 years and where are we. Still researching. RESEARCHING????? Reading about everybody elses tales. The encounters vary from this type of vehicle to that type of vehicle. Speculation runs the gamut from Martians to inter-dimensional-transcosmic collective consciousness. And where are we now. The same place as we were 70 years ago.

Cameras are now 100 times better than the cameras of back then. And now everybody has them. Back then information was very restricted just by the nature of technology. Now some one can take a picture and within minutes it can be posted around the world.

And what do we get??? Blurry lights in the sky, lights zooming and moving in formation sometimes. No better than 70 years ago.

Do I sound pissed? Yeah, well I am. You know why? Because my first sighting was in 1956 with subsequent sightings a decade later. And where are we now?? Researching researching researching.... Yes I'm pissed. No more research, no more stories from OTHER people. Might as well sit down on our couches and watch reruns of all the various Ancient Aliens episodes for the rest of our lives.

And what pisses me the most Karl, is the time I saw a saucer, not a light but a clear as day saucer flying over my head for almost half a minute. Just flying by. And I waited and watched and hoped and you know what???? I still do not know what I saw or why I saw it. Human secret tech???? I don't know. Aliens from Mars?????????? I don't know.
And so it all comes down to what do I want it to mean. What do YOU want it to mean.

I'm sorry, Karl. I didn't mean to veer your thread off your intentions here it's just that I'm pissed we all haven't' got it figured out yet and all I see coming from research is just more of the same....

Well said. I don't even mind so much that we haven't got it figured out so much as I'm sick of the so-called research simply being a rehash of the ET mantra minus an iota of evidence.

Michael Swords has an excellent book out titled UFOs and Government: A Historical Inquiry . It will end up being a classic in UFO literature.

His other book Grassroots UFOs: Case Reports from the Center for UFO Studies is excellent as well.

Is he coming out with a new book soon? Mr Swords is quickly becoming one of my favorite Ufologists.

originally posted by: Bloodydagger
Michael Swords has an excellent book out titled UFOs and Government: A Historical Inquiry . It will end up being a classic in UFO literature.

His other book Grassroots UFOs: Case Reports from the Center for UFO Studies is excellent as well.

Is he coming out with a new book soon? Mr Swords is quickly becoming one of my favorite Ufologists.

Other than gathering witness accounts, has he reached any conclusions? If so, what are they?

a reply to: Tangerine

He puts the evidence out there and lets the reader decide. If he has come up with his own conclusion, I don't know what they would be. Its why I was asking if he had a new book coming out soon.

Hes excellent. I highly recommend his books.

originally posted by: Bloodydagger
a reply to: Tangerine

He puts the evidence out there and lets the reader decide. If he has come up with his own conclusion, I don't know what they would be. Its why I was asking if he had a new book coming out soon.

Hes excellent. I highly recommend his books.

'

Evidence? Do you mean evidence or claims? They're not the same thing. Does he explore any hypotheses other than ETs? Is his book simply a listing of reports?

a reply to: TerryMcGuire

I am in the same boat..rowing it in fact. We will all know for sure at the same time, when they want us to. Ive been an avid consumer of "conspiracy" info for the past 25 years. Ive grown tired of the ufo/alien wing of it all. Regurgitation

originally posted by: In4ormant
a reply to: TerryMcGuire

I am in the same boat..rowing it in fact. We will all know for sure at the same time, when they want us to. Ive been an avid consumer of "conspiracy" info for the past 25 years. Ive grown tired of the ufo/alien wing of it all. Regurgitation

Who is they? The government? The government (any government) has never told the truth about anything. Why would this subject be different? I join you in being sick of the ET scenario.

a reply to: Tangerine

E.T. if they exist. I have found that after all these years of labor pains and no baby I am actually starting to rethink my beliefs on the matter.

originally posted by: In4ormant
a reply to: Tangerine

E.T. if they exist. I have found that after all these years of labor pains and no baby I am actually starting to rethink my beliefs on the matter.

It's become a religion (the Church of ET). It has all the characteristics of religion, none of them especially appealing and many repugnant. I respond to ET proselytizers the same way I respond to other religious proselytizers.

originally posted by: In4ormant
a reply to: TerryMcGuire

I am in the same boat..rowing it in fact. We will all know for sure at the same time, when they want us to. Ive been an avid consumer of "conspiracy" info for the past 25 years. Ive grown tired of the ufo/alien wing of it all. Regurgitation

There are only so many "tales" of UFO occupants that can be told. Only so many Roswell angles and so on that can be explained. Pretty much, any UFO book that you buy these days, will be regurgitated content. Hardly none of it is original anymore where new books are concerned. It all just depends on which author you like best and what flavor theory of the month that you enjoy and fits in with your belief system.

a reply to: Tangerine

I find the analogy compelling. Theres always money to be made. I especially love how the truth can be purchased for a price...depending on your preference of paperback/hardcover.

a reply to: Tangerine

Exactly my point. Thanks

a reply to: Bloodydagger

and fits in with your belief system.

Rehash is right. In the last 70 years we have discovered all those archaeology sites. When I was young all we had for ruins were basically Egypt Rome and Greece. Western culture. Now however we have found them all around the world. Many of which can point towards possible as the ("Alien Theorists Claim") past visitation. But it is all supposition isn't it. And all we really have is as you point out an ever increasing amount of speculative information which will or will not fit with all of our various belief systems.

Part of my own speculative system is that one thing I think I do see is that the field of supposition is much larger than it was 70, even 50, even 20 years ago. Now there is so much information within this field that we are left to speculate in ways and manners never before considered. For this reason alone, this IS a fascinating time.

originally posted by: TerryMcGuire

So we have a large collection of lore. Tales and stories, some pictures and so what.

Hi Terry, thanks for the post -quite a number of the cases listed do involve factors like radar confirmation, physical trace evidence, electromagnetic interference effects etc.. so I wouldn't just flippantly dismiss them as 'lore'.

I'm not suggesting you're being purposefully disingenuous btw and appreciate you sharing your sighting (also share your frustration at progress within the field) but there really are some fascinating UFO cases in the collection (oftentimes backed up by government documentary evidence).

originally posted by: TerryMcGuire

I'm sorry, Karl. I didn't mean to veer your thread off your intentions here it's just that I'm pissed we all haven't' got it figured out yet and all I see coming from research is just more of the same....

No probs and god knows what's going on when it comes to UFO origin - I personally suspect the world's oceans play a major role and do find it interesting that the Navy (and ONI) have never declassified any internal documents about the subject or their investigations but I could of course be very wrong.

Maybe the people to ask are the National Reconnaissance Office.

There is no doubt in my mind that today if not many times over the past fifty years we have had the surveillance capabilities to completely monitor the activities of certain UFO flights –and know exactly when they’re going, where they’re going, how they’re going, where they appear form and leave to, all the characteristics about them – we have radar based devices that will not only show the distance, direction and azimuth of an object and all that but will also how shape. We have devices the army has developed for tracking projectiles – they check the acoustic wave and when something crosses over they can immediately track that data and go back to the source. That’s how they track where a mortar is or a howitzer. We can use that same technology – and its portable – for tracking UFOs.

I don’t believe any of these things fly over our country today without being known and if somebody wanted the UFO mystery to completely disappear they could in five minutes release enough data to show exactly what’s going on and is not going on.

Interview

Secret US Intelligence Agency Holds UFO Answers

a reply to: stirling

Hi mate thought you'd like this one

Did notice that one of the images looked a lot like the sighting of a U.F.O. I had with a friend in the mountains of Spain a few years ago (zig zaggy light one) -have no idea what it was but it covered a huge distance in a very short time and seemed to give off luminescence each time it turned - looked more organic than anything else.

originally posted by: Puzzuzu

That will give ATS a welcomed injection of more UFO evidence to debate.

Hopefully so Puzzuzu but it does seem to me sometimes that the truly interesting UFO case threads get the least attention and post traffic.