UFO Universe Winter 1997 [antikvár]

^BDffiTHE LATEST OTHER-WORLDLYHAPPENINGS__ON THE TRAIL OF THE FLYING SAUCERS WITH TIM"MR. UFO "BECKLEYADMIRAL, BECKUEY-It seems like the phone has been ringing off the hook lately at all hours of the day or night from journalists wanting an "exclusive." Somehow the press equates the tremendous success of Independence Day, the blockbuster motion picture, with increased public interest and awarenessof the UFO phenomenon.If you were up late a few months ago, you probably saw your trustworthy editor on CNN's nightly entertainment segment. Right alongside the fantastic grosses that ID4 (the nickname the entertainment industry hasgiven the flick) has done, was a stack of copies of UFO Universe and our sister publication, Unsolved UFO Sightings.This segment must have been played 15 or 20 times the whole next day, resulting in welcome exposure for our magazines. In addition to the segment that ran on CNN, the piece was also syndicated to dozens of independent television stations around the world.Certainly, the success of such science fiction films has not hurt "the cause," but inquiring journalists seem to insinuate that lots more people will be seeing flying saucers and will be kidnapped by aliens afl:er seeing the film.Well, we have news for them there is absolutely no correlation between what happens in a science fiction thriller on the giant screen and what goes on in real life. The drama and excitement of Will Smith doing battle with the evil aliens and having the White House destroyed by some fiaturis-tic, other-worldly, laser technology, is not in keeping completely with reality.That's not to say that there hasn't been at least a few cases of overt hostility on the part of some UFOs, but as the article by Brad Steiger in this issue indicates, ourpilots have upon occasion actually taken a few pot shots at our cosmic visitors^perhaps without even firing a warning shot or two to indicate our intentions.By reading the article "The Incident at Edwards," you can see where UFOs have been keeping tabs on our military installations (they have been doing so for some time). They certainly have had every opportunity to "destroy and conquer" if this was their primary goal for coming here. To date, the planet is still spiiming, so I guess we'll have to conclude that if they're planning to take over, it's more of a "mind game" than an all-out physical battle.We certainly would be interested in what our readers think about Independence Day. Is this good publicity or bad exposure for the subject? Did you enjoy the film or did you think it was just so much "disinformation" or overblown fantasy (some call it a poor imitation of the sci-fi films of the 1950s)? Drop us a line and let us know.Send your mail to UFO Universe, 1700 Broadway, 34th Floor, New York, NY 10019 and let us have your opinion.Till next time, keep looking up.Tim"Mr. UFO"Beckley Editor, UFO Universe