From: A. J. Gevaerd - Revista UFO <gevaerd@ufo.com.br>
Date: Wed, 26 Feb 2003 15:59:23 -0300
Fwd Date: Wed, 26 Feb 2003 16:42:12 -0500
Subject: An Open Letter To Linda Moulton Howe


Dear Linda:

We met a couple of times in congresses in the US and Italy, and
exchanged a few letters in the past and e-mails lately. We spent
some time discussing Ufology and exchanging personal experiences
in San Marino, a few years ago, sharing a bottle of wine. I
believe I told you at that time what I will repeat now: that I,
for one, as have many many others, admired your good work and
devotion to the UFO field. I always thought of you as an example
of objectivity and professionalism. And I always had the feeling
that you should be listened to by any UFO researcher as a
reliable source.

Unfortunately, I have to tell you now that I no longer have the
same confidence in your work, if any at all. I have to tell you
that I am completely shocked with your misconduct in a
particular case involving the greatest UFO hoaxer of all times
in Brazil. And I feel compelled to share this feeling with other
people in the US and around the world. People who felt for you the
same way I did and should be aware of the new facts.

Linda, I am totally and deeply disappointed with the lack in
your impartiality and professionalism towards the referred case.
I am mostly sorry that you have decided to entirely ignore the
truth and skip any kind of serious analysis of the real facts
about the case. Instead of that, you have decided to totally
support an obvious fake that everybody in Brazil knows so very
well for 7 long years. I do wonder what motivates you to do it
and certainly it has to be a very strong reason, that I'd rather
not think about.

I am completely amazed to find out that you came to Brazil just
a few weeks ago, that you landed in my hometown, Campo Grande,
and you didn't even bother to call me or meet me, or with any
other responsible UFO researcher in my country, to hear what we
have to say about this particular case and to see what we have
to show about it. You simply decided to come all the way from US
to Campo Grande only and exclusively to listen to a well-known
hoaxer, whose trajectory and activities in Ufology are
completely rejected by the entire responsible media and serious
UFO researchers of all ages in Brazil, instead of seeking the
truth. You have decided to passionately support an evident fake,
a repulsive scam perpetrated by a man that shames the Brazilian
UFO Community, instead of listening to anyone else.

Of course, it is your choice who you should listen to or not.
Especially if you have received an invitation from the
interested party (along with tickets and probably expenses etc)
to go to a foreign country to listen to him/her. But any UFO
researcher in any country, or even any journalist anywhere,
would agree that it was an enormous lack of responsibility not
to listen to people who have been observing, documenting and
investigating such a scam for many years. If you haven't been
advised about it before, or if you hadn't been informed of the
problems with this particular case earlier, that would be a
different story. But you have!

See:

http://www.virtuallystrange.net/ufo/updates/2002/dec/m24-005.shtml

and

http://www.virtuallystrange.net/ufo/updates/2002/dec/m24-011.shtml

You have been fed with lots of info that you decided to ignore.
The case you report on your web site, amazingly in the section
of Science, is definitely not what you think it is and I am
impressed to see how easily you've been deceived with bogus
information, as well as I am amazed to find out that your skills
in detecting frauds have declined to a such degree.

At least as an obligation that comes with the duty invested in
the UFO research, or that of UFO journalism, you should consider
all the available information about that particular case. You
did not. Why? What prevented you from going to the sources and
check out what they know? You don't want to take my word for
that? No problem. But what prohibited from listening to the
entire Brazilian UFO Community and simply ignore their findings
and their extensive knowledge about the case involving the man
that you so enthusiastically support. What prevented you from
talking to your colleague-journalists on the main TV networks
in Brazil, where your supported "abductee" was exposed -
repeatedly?

I have checked out your agenda and found that you will be
speaking about this bogus case at several UFO conferences in the
States.

So it is my responsibility to inform everyone that the case is a
complete fake, one-hundred percent phony, and I will
respectfully ask them to do what you should have done, which is
to examine all the facts available. This is the reason for this
open letter. All Brazilian UFO researchers can be consulted any
time by anyone, as well as the media, for info about the
referred case and others involving the same person. Jeff Rense
still keeps in his website several of our letters and reports in
English that are concerned to this matter.

Well, Linda, I am mostly sorry for that and I hope that some
day, not too late, when you decide to check out the evidences
that you are solemnly ignoring, you will realize the damage that
you are causing. UFO researchers have been targets of hundreds
of accusations that we fail in objectivity and in applying
proper methods of research. Well, let me tell you that we, the
Brazilian UFO researchers, as an amalgamated coalition, working
relentlessly for the truth, have with much effort and
difficulties prevented thousand of more people to be fooled by
the man whose story you so devotedly support and promote at your
website. Our work in our country is done. I hope someone does
the same in the USA.

I refer to:

http://www.earthfiles.com/news/news.cfm?ID=473&category=Science


A. J. Gevaerd
Editor, Brazilian UFO Magazine (20 years being published)
President Brazilian Center for Flying Saucer Research (CBPDV)
National Director, Mutual UFO Network (MUFON)

gevaerd@ufo.com.br