UFO UpDates Mailing List
From: RobIrving@aol.com
Date: Fri, 21 Feb 1997 16:42:04 -0500 (EST)
Fwd Date: Fri, 21 Feb 1997 22:20:43 -0500
Subject: Re: Friedman v Randles - a new trial (was: Libel)
Subject: Friedman v Randles - a new trial (was: Libel)
Date: Fri, 21 Feb 97 13:57:05 -0000
From: Bob Rickard <rickard@forteantimes.com>
To: "UFO UpDates - Toronto" <updates@globalserve.net>
>In the very interesting interchange between Andy Roberts and Stanton
>Friedman about a defamation suit brought against Jenny Randles and a
>Manchester newspaper, Mr Friedman said:
>Why not post the article and the letter and the apology?
<snip>
The 'offending' article follows. It rattled Stanton Friedman and his UK
solicitor, Sale-based ufologist Harry Harris, enough that they hounded Jenny
Randles claiming defamation. This resulted in the loss of several thousands
of pounds to the accused. The action also involved a private letter written
by Jenny to the Manchester Evening News which was used by Harris as further
'evidence'. Perhaps one colourful expletive would have been sufficient, or
for Jenny to have simply ignored the "lunatics"? As I understand it, Jenny
has since claimed that she was misquoted, and that, at the very least, her
quotes were taken wildly out of context by the newspaper.
Manchester Evening News
October 28 1989
Jenny in Earthy [Earthly? RI] Battle on UFOs
A space invader war has broken out between UFO watchers in Greater
Manchester. A meeting featuring an American expert on the subject of
crashed UFOs was condemned today as "about as factual as a Steven
Spielberg movie." The rocket was fired by Jenny Randles, who claims to be
Britain's only "professional ufologist."
ZAP! She slated "dangerous and highly suspect non-science" from
cultists and crackpots.
POW! she blitzed the "absolute nonsense about crashed spaceships and
dead aliens" as damaging to sober links between serious ufologists and the
scientific community.
Jenny, who lives in Heathbank Road, Cheadle Heath, Stockport, poured
scorn on a presentation due to be made at Radcliffe Civic Hall on Sunday
by Harry Harris of Sale and American UFO fanatic Stanton Friedman.
Mr Friedman is a disciple of the theory that an alien space-ship
crashed in the New Mexico desert in 1947, since when the US Government has
made a secret pact with captive aliens about a quota system for spiriting
earthlings away to their planet in the system Zeta Reticuli.
"These people claim the only information garnered from having aliens in
a freezer for 42 years is that they have a fetish for strawberry
ice-cream." she declared.
For ten years Jenny has been director of information of the British UFO
Research Association, which, along with its Manchester counterpart, is
staging its own event at the city's Central Library on November 18.
Describing herself as "a kind of UFO agony aunt," Jenny said that 95
per cent of UFO sightings had perfectly logical and mundane explanations.
And there was no evidence to link unexplained phenomena with visitations
by flying saucers. "Virtually all witnesses are sincere at recounting what
they see. But unfortunately, the public perception of UFOs as alien
spacecraft - because of the outrageous tripe that gets written - marks
them out as some kind of lunatics," she added.
She recounted the case of a police officer "hounded out of the force"
because he faithfully reported a phenomenon in the Pennines that was hyped
by others into a visit from outer space.
Jenny said: "Half-baked tales that are never investigated make our task
doubly difficult because we have to re-assure the academics that all
ufologists are not like that."
[end]
Rob Irving
UFO UpDates - Toronto -
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