Chilean Air Force General (Ret.) Ricardo Bermúdez, Director of Chile’s official Committee for the Study of Aerial Anomalous Phenomena (CEFAA) will address the International UFO Congress in Fountain Hills, AZ this February. This is the first time ever in the USA when a high-ranking military officer who runs an official government sponsored UFO project talks about the subject at a conference open to the general public.

Chilean Air Force retired general Ricardo Bermúdez, director of CEFAA. (Image credit: Antonio Huneeus)

“This is an incredibly exciting opportunity for us” says conference co-organizer Maureen Elsberry, “this is the first time in the U.S. that such a high-ranking government official has spoken to the public about an official government sponsored UFO project. It shows how serious other countries take the subject of UFOs. It’s something they feel is worthy of official investigation.”

General Bermúdez served as commander of the Third Air Brigade in southern Chile, Director of the Technical School of Aeronautics, Deputy Director of the Air Force Academy, and Air Attaché in London. He became Director of CEFAA shortly after Chile’s Directorate of Civil Aviation created this office in 1997.

CEFAA collects UFO cases mostly from commercial and military pilots. “The policy of CEFAA is to pursue solid cases with adequate scientific data,” stated Gen. Bermúdez, “but only if there is an indication that the safety of the aircraft might have been at risk.”

Such a case occurred in November of 2003 when a B 737-200 almost collided with a triangular formation of luminous spheres.

The co-pilot of the aircraft wrote in the official CEFAA report: “A few minutes after takeoff I observed a dark mass of triangular shape heading toward our aircraft. It approached us rapidly in a collision angle with us and I was able to skip it by making a right turn. When it passed next to us I observed a metallic object with a steely gray color which passed very quickly near the window of the commander of the aircraft.”

Gen. Bermúdez will outline the history, methodology and some of the best cases collected by CEFAA up to now. He is also expected to make an announcement about the need for an exchange of UFO data among different countries and between official and civilian research groups, to better understand this puzzling phenomenon.

(Left to right) Gen. Ricardo Bermúdez, Dr. Richard Haines, Gustavo Rodríguez and Antonio Huneeus at the FIDAE 2000 international aeronautical expo in Santiago, where a CEFAA Conference and Workshop took place. (Image credit: Richard Haines)

“The CEFAA’s official position has always been to recognize that something is happening in our skies, but we, as yet, do not know what it is,” he said.

Gen. Bermúdez will speak on Saturday February 25th at 1:00 P.M. at the Fort McDowell Resort & Conference Center in Fountain Hills, Arizona. More information about his presentation can be found at http://www.ufocongress.com.

About the International UFO Congress:

The 2012 International UFO Congress will run Feb. 22-26 in Arizona

The International UFO Congress is an Arizona based organization dedicated to the dissemination of information related to many areas in ufology. It was established in 1991 and hosts an annual conference which is the largest of its kind in the United States. It features presentations given by authors, researchers, experts, enthusiasts, and those who have witnessed paranormal or anomalous phenomena from all over the world. It also provides a forum to discuss the experiences and findings. This event usually has over 20 Speakers, a Film Festival, tons of vendors as well as experiencer sessions. Topics generally covered are abduction, UFO sightings, UFO crashes, crop circles, paranormal experiences, government conspiracy and much more.

A celebration of paranormal filmmaking, the 2012 EBEFF includes screenings, social events and networking opportunities, and a closing night Banquet and Awards Ceremony where the coveted EBE statues will be awarded. The festival runs in conjunction with the International UFO Congress which is the largest annual UFO conference in the world.

Narrative short films (30 minutes or less) and feature length (60 minutes or more) completed after Jan. 1, 2010 will be considered.

Deadlines are:
* Regular – Jan. 15, 2012. Regular Entry Fees: $25 per category entered
* Late/Final Feb. 1, 2012. Late Entry Fees: $30 per category entered

EBEFF 2012’s “EBEs” will be awarded to the Best Feature and Best Short film and People’s choice at a special Awards Banquet to honor the filmmakers and their works February 25th, 2012.

Terje and Truls Toftenes of New Paradigm Films. (image credit: Peter Beste)

“We are very excited to host the festival this year and we already have some top-rate submissions,” said Festival Co-Organizer Maureen Elsberry. “This is really a celebration and exhibition of the amount of research, passion and dedication these individuals put into their work ” Elsberry said.

The International UFO Congress’ “EBE” Film Festival is a celebration of investigative filmmaking, with free films screened all day Tuesday February 21st and in the evenings Feb. 22 – 24th at the beautiful desert oasis at the Fort McDowell Resort & Casino in Scottsdale, Arizona.

For submission rules and application visit: 2012 UFO Film Festival
For further information call 480-302-2147.

Make sure to “like” the new International UFO Congress Facebook page!

About the International UFO Congress:

The International UFO Congress is an Arizona based organization dedicated to the dissemination of information related to many areas in ufology. It was established in 1991 and hosts an annual conference which is the largest of its kind in the world. It features presentations given by authors, researchers, experts, enthusiasts, and those who have witnessed paranormal or anomalous phenomena from all over the world. It also provides a forum to discuss the experiences and findings. This event usually has over 20 Speakers, a Film Festival, tons of vendors as well as experiencer sessions. Topics generally covered are abduction, UFO sightings, UFO crashes, crop circles, paranormal experiences, government conspiracy and much more.

Now through Tuesday June 7th get 35% off of your purchase of any 2011 IUFOC DVDs or merchandise.

Just visit the Open Minds Store and the discount will automatically be applied to your order.

Purchase your DVDs here.

The newlyweds are applauded as their marriage is announced at the UFO Congress banquet. (image credit: Peter Beste)

Nick Pope, an international man of mystery and as close as it gets to a real life Fox Mulder in England, held true to his role by getting married during a UFO Conference last month.

Pope, an author and journalist, worked for the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) Flying Saucer Working Party (FSWP) from 1991 to 1994. The FSWP was started in 1950 by the MoD’s chief adviser, Sir Henry Tizard, who suggested that the matter of UFOs be taken seriously. When Pope initially joined the group, he, however, did not take the matter serious, thinking the whole thing “complete rubbish”. Although, given time and having researched the UK’s extensive files, Pope eventually changed his mind. Now he lectures around the world on the subject, believing that UFOs are a real phenomenon and one that does pose a threat to national security.

Pope still serves as an adviser to the British government, most recently aiding in the release of the British UFO files by the UK National Archives, an ongoing process which garnishes media attention every time a batch is released. Earlier this month a group of files were released and headlines are still popping up worldwide regarding their revelations. More on the UK’s UFO X-Files can be seen in Open Minds Magazine Issue 5.

Pope recently spoke to a group of influential business men in Saudi Arabia. Along with respected colleagues, such as Stanton Friedman, Jacques Vallee, Dr. Michio Kaku, and Dr. Zafghloul El Naggar, they addressed the possibility of extraterrestrial visitation as a part of the forum titled, Contact: Learning from Outer Space. The conference was encouraging out-of-the-box thinking as a way of enhancing global competitiveness. Some of the influential speakers of this summit included former U.S. President Bill Clinton, and former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair.

Pope’s most recent adventure is his marriage to American Physical Anthropologist at San Jose State University, Dr. Elizabeth Weiss. Pope was in town to speak at the UFO Congress in Scottsdale, Arizona when he and Elizabeth snuck off to a courthouse in Phoenix, Elizabeth’s parents in tow, to join in Ufological matrimony. This is Pope’s first marriage and the glowing newlyweds were certainly a nice addition to a great conference. Nick was gracious enough to provide us with some picture of the marriage.

An interesting post script to this story is that the night of the International UFO Congress Awards Ceremony, just after the Popes’ marriage was announced, confirming the already circling rumors, door prizes were handed out. The luck of the draw had it that the first winner was Elizabeth Pope, and the prize was a sculpture of an alien baby, which was actually kind of cute as bizarre as that may sound. Unfortunately, Pope did not send me a picture of the sculpture to prove my last statement.

We congratulate Nick and Elizabeth and wish them the best!

Nick and Elizabeth at the Court House. (image credit: Gisela and David Weiss)

Nick places the ring on Elizabeth's finger. (image credit: Gisela and David Weiss)

Nick and Elizabeth with her parents, Gisela and David Weiss. (image credit: Nick Pope)

The happy couple were caught outside donning their ever present newlywed smiles. (image credit: Antonio Huneeus)

You can find more information about Nick Pope’s talk at the IUFOC here.

Hellyer wrote, “The time has long since passed when there can be any justification for secrecy in respect of matters that are so important to the lives of Americans, future Americans and all other Earthlings.”

In an interview with Open Minds Radio, Hellyer expounded on this idea, stating, “it is my opinion that… the technology necessary to switch from fossil fuels to clean energy in 10 years… exists, but a certain very small group are preventing us from knowing about it.” He referred to technology such as that which may have been recovered in Roswell in 1947.

Hellyer’s stature is nothing to take lightly. He is a retired cabinet level minister for a G8 country, and also the longest serving member of the Queen’s Privy Council, a group that consults with the English monarchy on the affairs of Canada. He has been a prominent figure in Canadian politics, focused on peace on the ground and in space, as well as the preservation of Canada’s independence.

Hellyer will speak on Saturday February, 26, 2011 at the Fort McDowell Resort & Casino in Scottsdale, AZ. The International UFO Congress is the largest UFO Conference in the United States and is presented by Open Minds Production; a local multimedia company focused on investigating and reporting evidence of extraterrestrial, UFO and other phenomena to a global audience.

Charles Halt

Retired Colonel Charles Halt says that he believes security personnel were secretly drugged and hypnotized after witnessing an extraordinary UFO event. Halt was the base commander of Bentwaters Royal Air Force base, where the UFO incident took place, while it was being leased by the USAF during the cold war. He made these statements on Open Minds Radio, an online radio program featuring news on the UFO phenomena and will be elaborating on his experience at the International UFO Congress in Scottsdale, Arizona next February.

While serving as Deputy Commander of RAF Bentwaters in 1980, Halt was made aware of a UFO investigation conducted by base security on the evening of December 26. Staff-sergeant James Penniston and two airmen went into nearby Rendlesham forest to investigate strange lights. They reported coming across a luminous triangular object that Penniston was able to approach and touch before it rose into the air and flew off at an incredible speed. Halt was skeptical of the encounter until the evening of December 28 when the strange lights returned. Halt investigated this sighting himself. Taking along a few servicemen, the group observed strange lights in the forest and luminous objects in the sky that moved abruptly and beamed lights onto the ground and into the base weapons storage area. In Leslie Kean’s recent best-selling book, UFOs: Generals, Pilots and Government Officials Go On the Record, Halt says that what they found in the forest that night was “something beyond our technology, judging from the speed of the objects, the way they moved and the angles they turned…”

Illustration of UFO beaming forest at night.

The Rendlesham forest is British territory so Halt’s superiors decided that the incident was the UK’s responsibility. However, Halt says he learned years later that “OSI [Office of Special Investigations] operatives harshly interrogated five young airmen…who were key witnesses.”  Halt says “the agents told them not to talk about the UFO events, or their careers would be in jeopardy.” And that “Drugs such as Sodium Pentothal…were administered during the interrogations…” His concern is that “the whole thing has had a damaging, and lasting, effects on the men involved.”

Halt is the highest ranking military officer to go public with an UFO encounter that occurred during his service and will be discussing this encounter at the International UFO Congress this February. Researcher Linda Mouton Howe will also be presenting her research regarding the Rendlesham forest incident and will be holding a Q and A session with Penniston along with one of the airmen who accompanied Penniston into the forest that fateful evening, John Burroughs. This month marks the 30th anniversary of the event.

From left: Nick Pope (Ex-UFO researcher for the British Ministry of Defence), James Penniston, Charles Halt. All three will be participating in the 2011 Internationl UFO Congress. (image credit: James Fox)

The UFO Congress is the largest gathering of UFO researchers and those interested in the phenomenon in the world. It boasts highly credible speakers, from retired military officers and scientists, to political figures such as an ex-minister of defence for Canada. It is being held February 23 to the 27, 2011 at the Radisson Fort McDowell resort in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Charles Halt discussing the drugging on Open Minds Radio:

Entire Open Minds Radio interview with Charles Halt:

Open Minds Radio interview with James Penniston:

The conference will be held at the Fort McDowell Resort and Casino February 23-27, 2011. Conference admission will be sold in packages for those many guests who make a week of the event, along with à la carte options available for those who just want to check it out for an afternoon.

The conference boasts more than 20 speakers and a plethora of exhibitors from around the globe, and covers a large variety of topics related to the UFO phenomenon including technology, government cover-ups, exopolitics, black projects, crop circles, alien visitation and more. Panels of astrophysicists, nuclear physicists, abductees, and former top-secret-clearance military personnel make up just a portion of highly decorated and influential speakers.

“Our decision to move the conference to the Phoenix area, from Laughlin, Nevada was to provide an opportunity for the larger masses to come out and participate and be able to listen to these highly credible speakers,” conference organizer Alejandro Rojas says.

Phoenix, Arizona has its fair share of UFO history, especially with the 1997 Phoenix Lights sightings, and the conference moving to an area as large and accessible as Phoenix makes sense for its future and continued growth.

“The stigma associated with this phenomenon is dwindling, as prominent figures such as Stephen Hawking are announcing the likelihood that life exists on other planets. We hope that people come out and see what this is all about and how they can get involved,” said Rojas.

One thing is for sure — the Phoenix area is in for an experience that is cosmic in size and matter.

For more information on the International UFO Congress, please visit the UFO Congress website.

About the International UFO Congress:
The International UFO Congress is an Arizona based organization dedicated to the dissemination of information related to many areas in ufology. It was established in 1991 and hosts an annual conference which is the largest of its kind in the United States. It features presentations given by authors, researchers, experts, enthusiasts, and those who have witnessed paranormal or anomalous phenomena from all over the world. It also provides a forum to discuss the experiences and findings. This event usually has over 20 Speakers, a Film Festival, tons of vendors as well as experiencer sessions. Topics generally covered are abduction, UFO sightings, UFO crashes, crop circles, paranormal experiences, government conspiracy and much more.

Stan delivered his talk to a packed house, and his images of UFOs and aliens garnered several “ooh”s and “ahh”s from the crowd. The visual-heavy presentation made Stan’s lecture one of the more exciting lectures to watch.

Open Minds’ show Live From Laughlin aired its 5th episode last night with guest Travis Walton. Walton discussed some of the details of his famous abduction that occurred 34 years ago. His story was the basis of the feature film Fire In The Sky.

The final two days of the 2010 International UFO Congress should be very exciting and packed with incredible information from researchers like Barbara Lamb, Richard Dolan, David Sereda, and Jaime Maussan.

However, it was Chuck Zukowski’s presentation that I found most interesting. Chuck delivered information related to recent investigations of the Roswell incident. His talk was filled with great photos from his investigations, and his delivery was extremely engaging.

Additionally, Chuck Zukowski was a guest last night on the fourth episode of Live From Laughlin. The show also contained a live interview with Barbara Lamb, and a video montage (created by Congress Production Manager Carlo Petrick) showing the first four days of the Congress.

Last night concluded with the popular Meet The Speakers cocktail party, and this year, the attendance was incredible with more than 500 people enjoying the food, the dancing, and the company.

Three more days remain!

Strange events have become commonplace in Stan’s life over the past several years. He claims to have been beaten up, shot at, and regularly receives mysterious phone calls. I’ve heard recordings of several of these calls, but had never personally heard it happen live until last Friday.

Stan Romanek was the guest on Open Minds Radio on Friday, January 22nd. He called in from Colorado to participate in a phone interview with host Alejandro Rojas. When Stan was describing details of his first abduction, a digital voice interrupted Stan, saying, “You need to learn to keep your mouth shut.” The phone line then went dead. When this happened during the show’s production, we all looked at each other with bewilderment. While there is no way of knowing if this occurrence was truly some mysterious person/being breaking into the call, or just a cheap fabrication to create a buzz, it certainly was something interesting to experience firsthand.

The presentation given by Stan Romanek in Phoenix was filled with photos, videos, and audio clips, but was only a sample of the material associated with his case. For those of you who want to see more Stan Romanek material, a documentary about Stan’s case is currently in production, and it will present content that has not been previously released. Additionally, Stan will be speaking at the 2010 International UFO Conference in Laughlin, NV this February.