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From: Greg Sandow <gsandow@prodigy.net>
Date: Tue, 1 Jun 1999 11:48:56 -0400
Fwd Date: Tue, 01 Jun 1999 22:20:35 -0400
Subject: Re: Magonia Monthly Suplement 15, May 1999


>Date: Sun, 30 May 1999 19:28:55 -0500
>To: UFO UpDates - Toronto <updates@globalserve.net>
>From: Dennis Stacy <dstacy@texas.net>
>Subject: Re: Magonia Monthly Suplement 15, May 1999

>Greg,

>Not to choose sides in an already complicated issue,  but I
>think Harney's point was this (or something similar):A one day
>symposium on the abduction phenomenon is being held; So why is
>Friedman, an historically nuts and bolts man, invited to speak
>at same, say, in lieu of someone else, such as Kevin Randle?
>Remember that discussion?

>A quick glance at the index of my copy of Alien Discussions, for
>example, reveals not a single entry under Friedman, Stan or
>Stanton. Friedman has _never_ been regarded as an abduction man
>(pardon the phrase), so the curious among us simply want to know
>why he is now presumed to have any meaningful input on the
>matter?

Stan was invited to speak about one very specific issue -- can
alien beings travel to earth from other solar systems? This is
something he's well qualified to discuss, because of his
background in nuclear engineering, and especially because of his
work on the attempted development of nuclear rockets. This was a
part of his history I hadn't been aware of, and I was intrigued
by his thoughts on how scientists, when they declare that
something is impossible, may not have considered engineering
approaches to the problems they think can't be solved.

Since Stan was speaking at the conference, it seemed reasonable
to ask him what he thinks about abductions, and, as moderator, I
did that during the final discussion panel. As I said here
earlier, I'd already asked him to write a position statement for
the conference press kit. Speaking only for myself, I found it
interesting to have a participant who hadn't been closely
identified with the subject, as something of a wild card in the
mix. Any more than this should come from Stan himself, which is
not to say that there are any great secrets here. It's just that
I don't have any business speaking for him. (I should note that
speakers had their expenses reimbursed, but weren't paid any
fee.)


>Harney is perfectly right and free as an editorial commentator
>to speak his mind, concluding with the plea: "Could someone sort
>it out for me?" Does Greg seriously believe that NY Times
>editorial writers are obligated to do original reporting
>themselves (ie, man the phones) when commenting upon already
>extant news items? Of course not.

Of course they aren't. But the Times will already have printed
news stories on the issues discussed in editorials, and there
presumably won't be gaping holes in the coverage. If the Times
wants to campaign, let's say, against Clinton's policy toward
Yugoslavia, they'll have asked him any relevant questions in the
course of their news reporting.

The Magonia editorial appeared on its own, without any context
of news about the conference. So Harney's plea for information
-- about something he could easily have found out for himself --
made his newsletter seem like a rather hapless amateur
operation, at least to me.

If you want comparisons, Dennis, I'll offer two, which at least
to me make more sense than a comparison to a NY Times editorial.

Comparison 1: If I write one of my music reviews for the Wall
Street Journal, I'll never let any major question sit
unanswered. I can't just sit back and write, "Will someone tell
me why Gerard Schwarz is still music director of the Mostly
Mozart festival?" I have to call the festival (or other sources
in the business) in an attempt to find out.

Comparison 2: You'd left the MUFON Journal, Dennis, when I
published my review there of David Jacobs's book "The Threat."
But I had a question for Dave when I wrote the book -- "How many
abductees reported the things the book talked about?" So I
called him to ask, and spent much of the review discussing his
answers.

Greg Sandow