The Weird Files, Part 12; The FBI and ESP

Most people reading this blog will, I'm sure, be aware of the Remote-Viewing research undertaken by various elements of the American Intelligence community and military in the 1970s.

But who knew that the FBI was engaged in such studies back in the mid-to-late 1950s?

The FBI has declassified its files on this particular topic and placed them online (here's where to get them in PDF format).

The FBI came away less than impressed by those who claimed to possess ESP; nevertheless the story is a fascinating one, full of skullduggery and Cold War spy-antics.

You can also read about my own analysis of the files in the anthology The Universe Wants To Play.

The Weird Files, Part 11: UFOs And The Condign Report

During a policy review in 1996 into the handling of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena sighting reports received by the British Ministry of Defence, a study was undertaken to determine the potential value, if any, of such reports to Defence Intelligence.
Consistent with Ministry of Defence policy, the available data was studied principally to ascertain whether there is any evidence of a threat to the UK, and secondly, should the opportunity arise, to identify any potential military technologies of interest.
The Ministry of Defence has released this report in response to a Freedom of Information request and has made it available to a wider audience via the MOD Freedom of Information Publication Scheme.
Where indicated information is withheld in accordance with Section 26 (Defence), Section 27 (International Relations) and Section 40 (Personal Information) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
Here's the link.

The Weird Files, Part 10: The Kinross Affair

The Kinross UFO incident of 1953 is one of the more unusual and intriguing cases on record. For details, see this summary.

The available official records on the incident are newly-posted online, thanks to the work of researcher John Tenney. The files tell a fascinating story of an old case that still provokes controversy to this day and that refuses to roll over and die.

British Ministry of Defense to Declassify its UFO Files

News just in: the British Ministry of Defense is due to declassify all of its UFO files over the next couple of years. This action is due to the work of British UFO researchers Gary Anthony, Dave Clarke and Joe McGonagle of UK-UFO.org.

Here's the details from their website

Following sustained pressure by a small number of UFO researchers during the last 8 years, the British Ministry of Defence have decided to release all of their UFO files.
Gary Anthony, Dave Clarke, and Joe McGonagle have been making full use of the Freedom of Information Act and it's precursor, the Code of Practice on access to Government information. At considerable personal expense, effort, and investment of time the three of us have submitted a steady stream of requests. As well as making requests ourselves, we actively encouraged and assisted other ufologists to make their own requests.
Dave Clarke obtained a listing of files held by the MoD on the topic of Unidentified Flying Objects during 2003. In the course of requesting the contents of some of those files, we discovered that 24 files created by DI55 (the Defence Intelligence Branch charged with the investigation of UFO reports) were contaminated by asbestos, and their destruction was being considered. Not only were the UFO records contaminated, but a total of 63,000 files estimated at between 6 to 12 million pages, most of them classified above Secret were facing the same fate. The files covered a wide range of topics from a key period of military and political history.

For the rest of the story, click here.

The Weird Files, Part 9: UFOs and the National Security Agency

The NSA is without doubt one of the most secretive agencies on the planet. The NSA has, however, declassified some of its UFO files into the public domain, and which can be found here.

The Weird Files, Part 8: The FBI's Archives of the Unusual

Over the years, the FBI has collated considerable files on various cases and people connected to the world of Forteana and the unexplained. Some of them can be found here.

The Weird Files, Part 7: Parapsychology

If you're interested in what elements of the Defense Intelligence Agency thought about psychic phenomena in the 1970s, as well as its potential as a tool for espionage (both on the part of the United States and the former Soviet Union), click here.