The Phenomenon - The Debate isn’t Whether UFOs Are Real, the Debate is What are They?
The Varginha UFO Incident, A Vast Trove of Other Cases, The Phenomenon and the Quest for Truth: Insights from James Fox
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The Phenomenon – The Debate isn’t Whether UFOs Are Real, the Debate is What are They? By James Fox – 9.0/10
James Fox's documentary "The Phenomenon" is a compelling and well-researched examination of the UFO phenomenon, presenting a wealth of evidence and testimonies from high-ranking government officials, and NASA Astronauts; Senator Harry Reid says it “makes the incredible credible”. The film's strength lies in its ability to present a clear and concise overview of the history of UFO sightings and encounters since WW2, focusing on several high-profile cases that have captured the public's imagination and sparked debate for decades. The Phenomenon also covers the (then) recently released Pentagon UFO videos, but its primary focus is the history of UFO sightings in the time since World War II, and it makes a case for greater scientific study of "the UFO phenomenon". Fox's documentary is particularly timely, as it incorporates the recent revelations from the Pentagon regarding the existence of a secret UFO program, the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP), and the confirmation of the authenticity of several videos depicting encounters between U.S. Navy fighter jets and unidentified aerial phenomena. Fox speaks to the recent developments in December 2017 when New York Times released videos of encounters between US navy fighter jets and UFOs and revealed the existence of the AATIP; Additionally he comments on the drastic shift in government stance toward the public as the Dept of Defense confirmed the videos were real and they were UFOs in April 2020. These developments lend credibility to the film's central argument that the UFO phenomenon is real and deserves serious scientific and government attention – let’s get into some of the cases mentioned.
The doc revolves around Fox presenting a series of compelling cases; firstly the McMinnville UFO (Oregon, 1950) incident commonly referred to as the Trent UFO photos, were two photographs of a purported UFO taken by a farming couple, Paul and Evelyn Trent near McMinnville, Oregon; the photos were reprinted in Life magazine and in newspapers across the nation and are often considered to be among the most famous and clearest photographs ever taken of a UFO. The film also includes footage and archival interviews with Kenneth Arnold, who coined the phrase "flying saucer" after his 1947 sighting; the Kenneth Arnold 1947 sighting was when private pilot Kenneth Arnold claimed that he saw a string of nine, shiny unidentified flying objects flying past Mount Rainier at speeds that Arnold estimated at a minimum of 1,200 miles an hour. He gets into the classic 1947 Roswell case, presenting the archival testimony of Maj. Jesse Marcel who was the first military officer tasked with investigating the 1947 Roswell incident, where supposed "flying disc" debris was later identified as pieces of a weather balloon. The incident was largely forgotten until 1978, when Marcel, then a retired lieutenant colonel, told ufologist Stanton Friedman that he believed the Roswell debris was extraterrestrial.
He speaks to one of the most iconic cases of all time – the 1994 Zimbabwe school encounter, where 62 pupils at the Ariel School aged between six and twelve said that they saw one or more silver craft descend from the sky and land on a field near their school. Some of the children claimed that one or more creatures dressed all in black then approached and telepathically communicated to them a message with an environmental theme, frightening them and causing them to cry. Certainly a rare case with most of the adults inside during a meeting, but the now grown up kids testify in the doc claiming they know what they saw and it has had a major impact on their lives. Similarly, another famed school UFO sighting is the Westall Australia sighting of 1966 where the object was observed by students at Westall High School, “when I interviewed all the children, now adults, that watched this thing land at a high school in 1966, they said the same thing - it got off the ground then turned sideways and shot off at supersonic speeds”. The Lonnie Zamora incident (1964 Socorro, New Mexico) was a sighting when Socorro police officer Lonnie Zamora claimed he saw two people beside a shiny object that later rose into the air accompanied by a roaring blue and orange flame. Fox comments on the profundity involved in cases in which beings are actually seen as opposed to just crafts which could likely just be some type of probes.
Then in 2004 the USS Nimitz ‘Tic Tac’ UFO off the coast of San Diego commonly referred to as the David Fravor case where 4 Navy pilots visibly saw the UFO which was recorded by multiple sensors going from 70,000 feet to 50 feet in a single second – this sighting is one of the most covered by mainstream media as there was no way for the media to dismiss the highly decorated Navy Pilot when he took the sighting to 60 minutes. The Rendlesham Forest incidents (Suffolk, England, 1980) were a series of reported sightings of unexplained lights near Rendlesham Forest which became linked with UFO landings. The events occurred just outside RAF Woodbridge, which was used at the time by the United States Air Force (USAF). USAF personnel, including deputy base commander Lieutenant Colonel Charles I. Halt claimed to see things they described as a UFO. The Ellsworth Air Force Base (1953, South Dakota) sightings involved a series of radar/visual observations of unidentified flying objects that occurred between August 5th and 6th, 1953. Initially seen over Bismarck, North Dakota, witnesses to these aerial objects included both civilian and military observers, and the incident was described by Edward J. Ruppelt, first director of Project Blue Book, the U.S. Air Force’s investigation into unidentified flying objects between 1953 and 1969, as being “the best UFO report in the Air Force files.” The Papua New Guinea Encounter (1959) commonly referred to as the Father Gill incident; Father William Gill and 38 others in Boianai, Papua New Guinea, observed a large, disc-shaped UFO with humanoid figures that appeared to wave back at them, during an encounter lasting several hours over two consecutive nights. Despite thorough investigations, the incident remains unexplained and is renowned for its credible witnesses and detailed documentation as Father Gill wrote detailed reports and sketches of the sighting. The incident is often cited for its high number of credible witnesses, including a respected clergyman, and the extended duration of the sighting.
Aguadilla Airport Incident (Puerto Rico, 2013) was when a UFO was recorded by a U.S. Customs and Border Protection aircraft at the Rafael Hernandez Airport in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, displaying unconventional flight characteristics, including rapid speed changes and the ability to submerge in water. Despite extensive analysis, the incident remains unexplained and is notable for the high-quality video evidence captured by government officials. Between 2014 and 2015, Navy pilots aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt recorded multiple encounters with unidentified flying objects off the East Coast of the USA exhibiting extraordinary flight capabilities, such as rapid acceleration, ultra high speeds, and the ability to hover with no visible means of propulsion. The encounters were captured on video by the pilots' helmet cameras and fighter jet sensors; these videos, including the GIMBAL and GOFAST footage, have become well-known examples of UAP sightings and some of the most compelling official footage to date as the U.S. Navy and Department of Defense have acknowledged the legitimacy of the videos. The Kecksburg UFO incident (Pennsylvania, 1965) was when a fireball was reported by citizens of six U.S. states and Canada over Detroit, Michigan, and Windsor, Ontario. Astronomers said it was likely to have been a meteor bolide burning up in the atmosphere and descending at a steep angle, and NASA released a statement in 2005 reporting that experts had examined fragments from the area and determined they were from a Soviet satellite, but that records of their findings were lost in 1987. NASA responded to court orders and Freedom of Information Act requests to search for the records as the incident gained wide notoriety in popular culture and ufology, with speculation ranging from extraterrestrial craft to debris from the Soviet space probe; Kecksburg is often called "Pennsylvania's Roswell".
The 1986 São Paulo case adds more fuel to the Brazil UFO fire. On May 19, 1986, a series of UFOs were sighted over several Brazilian states, including São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais, and Goiás. The event, now known as the "Night of the UFOs," became one of the most significant UFO incidents in history as the sightings were reported by hundreds of civilians and military personnel, including experienced pilots and the objects were detected by multiple radar systems belonging to the Brazilian Air Force. Additionally five Brazilian Air Force fighter jets were scrambled to intercept the UFOs, but they were easily evaded; the Brazilian Air Force acknowledged the incident and stated that they were unable to identify the objects. The Chilean Navy UFO Encounter (Santiago, 2014) is a particularly interesting case that’s been covered by mainstream media. In 2014, a Chilean Navy helicopter crew near Santiago, Chile, recorded a UFO with a thermal imaging camera during a routine coastal patrol. The unidentified object exhibited unusual flight characteristics, moving at high speeds and emitting a trail of an unknown substance and the footage reportedly shows two glowing orbs or elliptical objects moving together; the Chilean Navy conducted a two-year investigation but classified the results. The Iranian Air Force UFO Encounter (Tehran, Iran, 1976) describes an Iranian Air Force pilot who encountered a UFO over Tehran, Iran, during a routine flight. The pilot reported seeing a bright object that disrupted the aircraft's instruments and communications systems. Attempts to engage the UFO with weapons were unsuccessful as the object demonstrated advanced maneuvers and speeds far beyond conventional aircraft capabilities. Despite thorough investigations, the incident remains unexplained, highlighting the technological superiority of the unidentified object. The Levelland UFO Case (Levelland, Texas, 1957) is another case a large number of witnesses have testified to. Over the course of a few hours, at least 15 residents (people from various backgrounds, including police officers, teachers, and oil field workers) reported seeing a UFO described as a glowing, oval, or rocket-shaped object, causing their vehicles to experience electrical malfunctions, including engine stalls, dimmed headlights and haywire radios alongside feelings of drowsiness and disorientation; In some witness testimonies, some reported a physical effect like being touched or scanned by a beam of light. The investigation was taken to Project Blue Book which concluded the incident was likely caused by ball lightning or a severe electrical storm, however, there were no reported storms in the area that night. The large number of witnesses with consistent descriptions and similar experiences makes the ball lightning explanation unlikely for many ufologists.
The film also delves into the fascinating connection between UFO sightings and nuclear facilities, suggesting that these unidentified craft may be monitoring / interfering with humanity's nuclear capabilities, or subtly sending a message that we have no business creating weapons of mass destruction; One of the most striking examples mentioned in the film is the Ellsworth Air Force Base incident in South Dakota in 1966. During this event, a UFO was reported to have hovered over a nuclear missile silo, and a red beam of light was seen shining down on the nuclear weapon. This incident led some to speculate that the UFO might have been collecting data, attempting to disarm the missile or send a message that we should not be creating this technology capable of mass destruction. Another case discussed in the documentary is the Malmstrom Air Force Base incident in Montana in 1967, where a UFO was reported to have hovered over a nuclear missile site and temporarily disabled the missiles. Robert Salas, a former U.S. Air Force missile launch officer, provides a firsthand account of this incident, describing how multiple nuclear missiles went offline during the UFO encounter. These cases raise important questions about the intentions behind UFO activity near nuclear sites. Some believe that these incidents could be interpreted as a message from extraterrestrial intelligences, warning humanity about the dangers of nuclear weapons and the potential for self-destruction. The fact that UFO sightings seem to have increased dramatically since the advent of the nuclear age in the post-World War II era further supports this idea. By focusing on the connection between UFOs and nuclear facilities, "The Phenomenon" adds a new layer of intrigue and significance to the UFO mystery, suggesting that these unidentified craft may be more than mere curiosities, but rather a phenomenon with profound implications for humanity's future and survival.
The Phenomenon’s high profile testimonies is what makes it such a fascinating watch; It features interviews with former US Senate majority leader Harry Reid, Clinton White House chief of staff John Podesta, former deputy undersecretary for Defense Intelligence Christopher Mellon, former New Mexico governor Bill Richardson, and journalist Leslie Kean. In the film, Reid is asked about other evidence and replies "I'm saying most of it hasn't seen the light of day”, implying that despite all of these cases that have surfaced, we still will never know about the vast majority, highlighting the frustration of many officials with the government's reluctance to fully disclose information about UFOs to the public, suggesting that bureaucratic secrecy and compartmentalization may be hindering progress in understanding the true nature of these enigmatic encounters – compartmentalization on such a scale that even President Clinton admits he was eluded. The doc speaks to the termination of Project Bluebook (1947-1969) and the fact that of a total of 12,618 sightings reported to Project Blue Book, 701 remained "unidentified", alluding to the notion that it was terminated because they didn’t want this information going public, not because the phenomenon didn’t require further investigation.
The revelation of the "Pentacle Memorandum" by ufologist Jacques Vallee further underscores the depth of official interest in UFOs and the extent to which some officials have gone to keep this information hidden from the public. The memorandum, which details a secretive meeting between government officials and scientists to discuss UFO sightings and their potential implications, is a clear indication that the UFO phenomenon has been taken seriously at the highest levels of government for decades. By shining a light on these hidden aspects of the UFO mystery, "The Phenomenon" makes a compelling case that the time for secrecy and denial is over. The film's powerful conclusion, as articulated by the Zimbabwean school child who simply states, "Aliens visited us," serves as a clarion call for a new era of openness and scientific inquiry into the UFO phenomenon. As more high-ranking officials come forward to share their knowledge and experiences, and as public pressure for disclosure continues to grow, it becomes increasingly clear that the debate surrounding UFOs is no longer about their existence, but rather about their nature, origin, and implications for humanity's future.
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JRE 1976 – The Varginha UFO Incident, A Vast Trove of Other Cases, The Phenomenon and the Quest for Truth: Insights from James Fox
Intro
The 1996 Varginha UFO incident in Brazil, often referred to as the Brazilian Roswell, has long been shrouded in mystery and controversy. In his appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience (Episode 1976), renowned UFO filmmaker James Fox delves into this enigmatic case, sharing his journey from skepticism to conviction, and highlighting the significant evidence that suggests something extraordinary occurred in Varginha in ‘96. Fox's documentary, "Moment of Contact," aims to unravel this mystery, presenting a wealth of witness testimonies and investigative findings – The 1996 Varginha UFO incident in Brazil stands as one of the most compelling and well-documented cases in the history of ufology. This essay explores the controversial Varginha case through the lens of James Fox's documentary "Moment of Contact" and Joe Rogan's podcast interview with Fox. I’ll highlight the key arguments for and against the case's legitimacy, while raising broader questions about UFO sightings and government cover-ups, touching on a number of other UFO cases mentioned in the podcast episode. The Varginha case centers around reported UFO sightings and the alleged capture of alien creatures in Varginha, Brazil as witnesses described a close encounter with a glowing craft and strange beings – the case gained significant media attention, with claims of military involvement, recovered creatures, and witness intimidation. For other analyses of the 1996 Varginha case and the counterargument that it was indeed a conspiratorial hoax, see my essays reviewing Moment of Contact and The Why Files – Varginha UFO Crash: Alien Contact, Government Denial and Coverup.
Initial Skepticism and Renewed Interest
Fox, who initially dismissed the Varginha case when he first heard about it in the late 1990s, only began to investigate it seriously in 2011 after hearing from respected UFO researcher and nuclear physicist Stanton Friedman, who had met with some of the witnesses during a trip to Brazil. What Fox uncovered over the course of his 12-year investigation was a story that, if true, could settle the debate over the existence of extraterrestrial life once and for all. Fox describes the Varginha incident as one where a UFO reportedly crashed, and alien beings were allegedly seen by local residents – one of the most striking descriptions comes from witnesses who compared the craft's glowing metal to phosphorous on a beach, claiming the disc was so close to the ground that it could have been hit with a rock. This vivid imagery set the stage for Fox's deeper exploration into the event.
Varginha Case Details: Witness Testimonies, Military Involvement and the Sheer Potential of the Case
The case involves a staggering number of witnesses + testimonies, from the three girls who came within a few feet of one of the creatures and engaged in a form of telepathic communication, to the doctors and nurses at the local hospital where the beings were allegedly taken, to the military personnel who were said to have been involved in the recovery and cover-up of the incident. Around 67 minutes into the interview, Fox describes the interaction with the three girls, namely Katia, and how the moment they locked eyes, they apparently communicated telepathically, coining the name – Moment of Contact, “3 girls came within 10 ft of the creature”. The title comes from when one of the girls, Katia, locked eyes and it communicated with her that it was feeble and needed help. Weeks later, men in black showed up and offered a brief case of hundreds of thousands to the mother to get the daughters to retract their statements, say they were lying and they could relocate and for the first time in 25 years [Fox] decided to report on these guys”. One of the most emotional moments in Fox's investigation came when he took one of the primary witnesses back to the spot where the UFO had crashed (the spot which a geologist told James that the ground at impact site had been tampered with) only to see the man overwhelmed with emotion as he relived the event that had shattered his understanding of reality; Rogan offers his perspective “if he’s full of shit, he’s one of the best actors ever because that moment when he gets back to that spot and is overwhelmed with emotions and starts tearing up… he’s freaking out. Just imagine if 25 years ago you witnessed something that literally destroyed your understanding of life itself in the universe and that there’s something out there that can visit us that’s probably been here forever. The guy disappeared after ‘96. He never made a dime off this. He made one statement 26 years ago to an engineer/ufo researcher in Brazil”. This raw, emotional response lends credibility to their accounts and underscores the profound impact of the encounter as the trove of witnesses maintain their stories after decades. Fox emphasizes the emotional impact on the witnesses and the consistency in their descriptions as witnesses recount how armed forces swiftly cordoned off the area, transporting what they claimed were alien bodies to a local hospital.
Two of the most key aspects that support the narrative that aliens indeed landed in Varginha are the death of Marco Chereze and the extreme stench that permeated the entire city. One young military official, Marco Chereze, who reportedly handled a creature with his bare hands, succumbed to a mysterious infection shortly thereafter and ultimately died – put simply, witnesses say they saw him touch the creature and he is recorded as dying from an unknown infection a few days later, “A couple hours after first contact Marco Chereze is seen grabbing the thing with his bare hands and then the being was transported from hospital to a military base, then the Americans swooped in. Marco Feres says the USAF (United States Air Force) landed despite initial lack of clearance and that’s when the case went cold” (79 mins). Another aspect of the case that has no alternative explanation is the pungent stench that dozens of witnesses testify to; “Everyone talks about the stench. Thousands times more powerful than a skunk that fills your nasal cavities and doesn’t leave”. Fox says it was this unanimous testimony regarding this otherworldly stench that solidified that this event was no hoax “I couldn’t reintegrate back into culture because I felt that this really happened. My friends told me James I lost you on this one. To that I say I don’t blame you bro but just listen to the witnesses”. 75 mins in Fox tells us about the doctor that allegedly took X-Rays of the alien; 40 years after he retired from the regional hospital he finally agreed to meet with Fox and co : “At the end of the interview he says thank you, I've been shouldering that burden for 26 years and have desperately wanted to share it with the rest of the world. This secret inside him ruined his life”. These events point to a coordinated cover-up, further evidenced by testimonies from medical professionals who were pressured to remain silent.
As Fox verbally depicts these events, Joe comments on the fact that people are often married to their initial ideas, and that this case would not be widely talked about if it wasn’t for James who went through the exhausting work going back and forth to Brazil for 12 years, but Fox continued on because there’s more that points to the this event being legit. They discuss the Crazy UFO statue in the middle of the city and the fact that the Mayor of Varginha is on record saying “I know the witnesses and I think this thing happened. Let me know how to help”. Another seemingly inexplicable of the documentary is when James and his crew tracks down Eric Lopes, who was alongside Marco Chereze when he touched the creature and transported it to the hospital; when they arrive at his house, he says, without being prompted, “if you’re here to talk about 1996 get off my property” threatening to shoot them if they don’t; “Eric Lopes is the only living survivor of the second capture - the driver of Marco Chereze. The mayor connects us and we get to his house and he’s threatening to shoot people the whole time. The first thing he says — all we say is Eric lopes are you here — and he goes “I’m not gonna talk about the ET”. He threatened to kill everybody and said I’m not talking about it. So you tell me if there’s enough compelling eyewitness testimony that merits more investigation to solve this once and for all. I’m handing this case to the world on a silver platter”. Fox also recounts another figure who refused to talk about the case, likely because they had been threatened to be arrested on the basis of treason and threats to national security – Jose Carlos Perrera of the Brazilian air force, “I met with Jose Carlos Pererra of the Brazilian air force twice. He said he’ll talk about the 1986 case and the Colaras case in the 70s but said he would terminate the interview if he asks about Varginha”. After the interview he pleads with him to talk and he says nothing until he gets in the car and looks James in the eyes and says “it happened” before driving away. Fox tells us he’s only sharing this because he died and as a personal message, that kind of validation is what fueled further investigation (65 mins). At the 97 minute mark, Fox then mentions Dr Roger Leir and his book, UFO Crash in Brazil, who claimed there were telepathic communications with a live entity who said they felt sorry for the human species because we don’t realize our potential of who we really are. He then gets into the fact that this is not some fringe conspiracy and it has been explored and validated by credible sources like Dr Leir, Michael Schelenberger of The New York Post who wrote “People claim they saw aliens after UFO crash-landed in Brazil in 1996, documentary reveals” and the Wall Street Journal “Tale of Stinky Extraterrestrials Stirs Up UFO Crowd in Brazil”.
An hour into the interview, Fox synthesizes some of the details of the case that seem unambiguously true, “Something that we don’t understand was in the sky and got caught in a furious storm, was hit by lightning and wound up crashing. These beings survived, were seen in town and Marco Chereze handled one, then got an insane infection and died very quickly afterwards. He was a healthy young military man and then just died; the fact that all these people have the same story — the same depiction of the craft and seeing these beings. It can’t just be a coincidence. The national military shut the town down and blockaded the roads – there’s no alternate explanation why they did that and the national military has never been to the town of Varginha ever before or after this incident. This doc was 12 years in the making”. An hour 15 in, they describe the unexplainable anomaly re the military presence and blockade on January 20, 1996, in the hospital and city as a whole, “It was a normal day until armed military and police trucks came into the hospital with a thing in a black body bag. It was a super tense atmosphere with armed guards everywhere nobody comes or goes. They told the doctor who conducted the X-Ray “this event never happened” even though the stench was completely overwhelming and that part of the hospital was shut down for weeks thereafter. They didn’t let him see anything and kept the body in the black bag the whole time”. After discussing most of the actual details of the case, they take a step back and examine it holistically, declaring it to be the UFO case with the most potential in transforming the global perspective, “Moment of Contact is the case that can settle things once and for all. It’s either the most elaborate hoax of a case of all time that half the town of 130,000 people in Varginha are in on including the mayor, and high ranking military officials, OR the UFO crashed, live aliens were recovered, the Americans stepped in, silenced the Brazilians and diffused the case”.
The Broader Implications and Connections: A Wider Context of UFO Sightings
The Varginha case becomes a springboard for a discussion on UFO sightings in general as Fox expands the discussion to the broader phenomenon of UFO sightings, particularly around nuclear facilities as well as the uptick in UFO sightings after the US launched Fat Boy and Little Man – which Rogan attributes to the aliens ‘wanting to make sure we don’t blow each other up’. He references his conversations with Senator Harry Reid, who initiated the Pentagon's Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP), who revealed that one of the most startling findings of the program was the frequent incursions of unidentified objects over nuclear missile sites, a potential form of symbolic communication in which these extraterrestrial creature may be telling us we should not possess this world-destroying technology. On the subject of UFOs and nukes, Fox also mentions how he contacted Robert Hastings, an expert on the connection between UFOs and nukes having published multiple books about it, and how he gave Fox all his archives because he was sick and anticipating death – UFOs & Nukes: Extraordinary Encounters at Nuclear Weapons Sites. Fox talks about his interview with Robert Salas - a LT launch control officer for the US Air Force - who said there was a disk citing of a ufo and then that nuke site shut down, as Rogan equates the situation to “taking matches out of the hand of a baby” while Fox responds regarding the wide-ranging possibility of this phenomena, commenting that Salas told him “there are potentially cases at every nuclear installation in the US”. He continues that this phenomenon has been admitted by some of the most credible sources possible, “These are the people responsible for the security of our nuclear weapons saying this. The deputy base commander CL Charles Halt, Gordon Williams the general. People think there was a sudden epiphany within the US government that they wanted the public to know more about this phenomenon. That is not what happened. It was because a couple leakers like Christopher Mellon walked some evidence out of AATIP and put it in the New York Times in December 2017”. The two also discuss the documentary Accidental truth, in which Ron James presents accounts from Chris Mellon, Dr Michio Kaku, Colonel John Alexander, Lue Elizonodo, Nick Pope and other highly regarded professionals about potentially recovered materials and sightings that posit “this irrefutable truth creates more questions then you can possibly imagine”.
Fox also touches on many historical UFO cases, drawing parallels to the Varginha incident. He mentions encounters such as the 1966 Westall UFO sighting in Australia, a case Fox has investigated himself “When I interviewed all the children, now adults, that watched this thing land at a primary school in 1966, they said the same thing - it got off the ground then turned sideways and shot off at supersonic speeds”, the 1994 Ariel School incident in Zimbabwe, where children received telepathic messages from beings, (100 witnesses in Zimbabwe researched by professor John Mack), The Roswell incident of 1947, highlighting potential government manipulation of information, the Meng Zhaoguo Incident, a 1994 UFO case in China, where they related the same telepathic message that children received in Zimbabwe; “The reason Roswell is so relevant is because the 509th bomb squadron, an elite atomic weapon deployment squad announced they recovered a flying saucer and then they rescanned and detracted their statements and said sorry it was a common weather balloon during a press conference with Roger Raymee, Colonel Dubose and Jesse Marcel; Fox says they went on camera after this press conference and said the balloon was a cover up story and that the original was true. Apollo 14 astronaut Edgar Mitchell was told by ranchers that it was clearly not of Earth material and was actually the exact same material as described in the Varginha case”.
He briefly touches on a number of other UFO cases: the 1973 Richland County Lieutenant Coyne case in Ohio, The Marianna UFO of 1955 in Jackson County Alabama and the 1952 - UFOs over the White House; he posits that in this 1952 case a pilot was surrounded by UFOs but radioed back to silent towers; “It was the biggest press conference since WW2 in which they said that there are credible people making incredible claims but the UFOs Air Force refused to let the public hear the testimony”. The 1966 Dexter Michigan case is especially interesting because President Gerald R. Ford, a congressman at the time, pushed for congressional hearings because of it. The cases keep coming; In 1986 Anchorage Alaska JAL japanese airline pilot Captain Kenji Terauchi, on flight 1628, reported seeing three objects he described as "two small ships and the mother ship” and FAA official John Callahan kept cockpit recordings of the Japanese pilot clearly saying that they were seeing UFOs. He speaks to The Belgian UAP Wave 1989-1991 where hundreds of reports of enormous triangular objects with bright lights were recorded in Belgium, and the highest concentration of sightings began on the night of November 29th, 1989, when multiple-witnesses observed what seemed to be strange aircraft. That night a total of 143 sightings were reported in Eupen, a Belgian town about 7 miles from the German border; at least 13 of the witnesses were police officers and Belgian AirForce General Wilford Debrower said there were triangle objects the size of a football field shooting beams of light down into the ground. The Phoenix Lights case on March 13, 1997 where Fox says “I interviewed families who said the object was so big it took 4 mins to pass their house. The Governor Fife Symington saw it and launched his own investigation. The object had the ability to move extremely slowly but then took off in the blink of an eye; "It was absolutely breathtaking," Symington said. "I mean when I saw it, I said this is definitely a UFO. I have never seen anything like this in my life." Then in 2004 the USS Nimitz ‘Tic Tac’ UFO off the coast of San Diego commonly referred to as the David Fravor case where 4 Navy pilots saw a UFO recorded going from 70,000 feet to 50 feet in a single second. The 2006 Chicago O'hare Airport case is a crazy one as “half the crew saw a disc that hovered over the airport. When the disc left it “punched a donut hole in a cloud” which was recorded as a "weather phenomenon”. There is no shortage of witnesses in the 2008 Stephenville Texas case when dozens of locals claimed to see an object so big it was like a small city. Ricky Sorrels, one of the best witnesses said it was absolutely huge but would’ve missed it take off if he blinked because it shot straight up and disappeared. He didn’t put this case in The Phenomenon because this police officer who told him “everything Ricky is saying is true. The whole police force watched this thing. My radar gun had it floating at 22mph” didn’t go public with his statements.
They also get into the Lonnie Zamora incident in New Mexico 1964 – one of the most documented cases in history, “Military officers got there with the bushes still smoking, imprints of the craft and footprints”. Fox says he got to know the family through his interviews and speaks to the notion that the Air Force discouraged him to talk about the beings he claimed to see. “It’s one thing like David Fravor to see a UFO but it’s another thing to see beings. Lonnie was never the same after that case. He says he saw two child-like figures with white coveralls in an egg thing. There were blue flames to get the craft off the ground, then it was completely silent. This is described by Dr Allen Hynek’s own handwriting in the national archives in 2013. He went to DC to Marco Rubio and co who are pushing for more transparency and wanted me to read this to Joe's audience”: Then, at the 53 minute mark, Fox reads aloud Dr Hynek’s letter regarding the UFO phenomenon being downplayed by the pentagon “as someone that’s seen the classified data, I’m very disappointed that Dr Kirkpatrick showed the most mundane videos to the public. I applaud Senator Jill Abrans effort but am more sure than ever Kirkpatrick is not the one”.
The two also discuss Stanton Friedman’s critical perspective of the Bob Lazar story because of his sketchy MIT education but Rogan says he was undisputedly a worker at the Los Alamos lab as he was listed on the employee list, yet they tried to claim he never worked there – evidence pointing to a smear campaign against the whistleblower. Fox mentions his conversations with esteemed journalist George Napp who believes Lazar may have been used as a disinformation plant that cedes some real and some fake info to test the reactions of the public, recycling the thoughts about whether or not he actually possessed element 115, (and whether there is a stable version of this element that was discovered in a particle collider). They speak to the absurdity that Lazar was talking about element 115 (the stable version of the element is allegedly used to propel the UFOs through a means of bypassing normal propulsion systems with some insanely sophisticated method where they can pick points in space and instantaneously traverse to these points, effectively manipulating gravity, time and space) in the 1990s when it was first synthesized in the early 2000s and officially added elemental chart in 2016 – if Lazar was lying, how did he know about element 115, ‘before it was discovered’? They also get into the Chuck Clark 1995 Nevada UFO footage, captured by Logan Paul who filmed it with a button camera. They speak to the fact it was hard to make fake videos back then and that Logan Paul might have the most compelling UFO footage ever.
Conclusion: A Quest for Truth
Many of these cases, like Varginha, involve credible witnesses and consistent descriptions, suggesting a global phenomenon. Fox & Rogan’s discussion regarding military pilot sightings and radar detections, suggesting encounters beyond explainable phenomena and the recent UAP legislation, indicates a shift in government acknowledgement of these events, “The recent UAP legislation newly signed into law (thank you Senator Rubio, Jill Abran and others) says that any activity or program by a department or agency of the federal govt or a contractor related to UAPs including with respect to material retrieval, material analysis, reverse engineering, research and development, detection and tracking, development or operational testing, must be documented”. Additionally, Fox is thankful for the Whistleblower Protection Act which states, “Protection for individuals making authorized disclosures shall not be subject to a non-disclosure agreement entered into by the individual who makes the disclosure”. Fox begs the viewers to think about why this would be prompted and why they would put that language in there.
With 16 mins left Rogan synthesizes many of the cases James has been describing, “The phenomenon is real, the only speculation is what is it? The preponderance of evidence leans in the direction of it being real. There’s a physical phenomenon taking place that are flying rings around our fastest jets that are leaving imprints on the ground and are picked up by radar sensor, photographic sensors, seen visually and claimed recoveries. If it’s us well then they’ve sure been hiding some revolutionary technology for over 75 years. They’ve got things that fly without visible means of propulsion without wings or making any sound? Right angle turns at high speed? Something is going on that we don’t know and that’s not up for debate”. Rogan continues this rant conceding that it makes sense that this information has been kept from the public for so long, “when it comes to matters of international conflict or virtually anything of this magnitude, they lie and come up with a narrative that’s very loosely based on facts. Anything that takes away their agency is dangerous. If you want to pretend the US is in control of you and of the world and then there are these beings from another planet that behave in an impossible way, I’d probably shut the fuck up too if I was the POTUS” (4 mins left).
The Varginha incident is not without its controversies. Fox discusses the skepticism and resistance he faced, including threats from individuals who were deeply invested in maintaining the secrecy surrounding the event. Despite this, he remains steadfast in his pursuit of the truth, calling for greater transparency and the release of classified information. Fox's documentary "Moment of Contact" aims to provide a comprehensive examination of the Varginha case, presenting evidence that could potentially settle the debate once and for all; he urges witnesses and insiders with knowledge of the incident to come forward, emphasizing the importance of whistleblower protections recently enacted in U.S. legislation. Despite the Brazilian government's efforts to silence the witnesses and dismiss the case, Fox's investigation uncovered a wealth of evidence that lends credence to the idea that something truly extraordinary happened in Varginha in 1996. From the testimony of high-ranking military officials who confirmed the reality of the event off the record, to the physical traces left behind at the crash site, to the striking similarities between the Varginha case and other well-documented UFO incidents like Roswell, the evidence is compelling and difficult to dismiss. Of course, as with any case of this nature, there are those who remain skeptical, dismissing the Varginha incident as an elaborate hoax or the product of mass hysteria, but for those who have studied the case in depth, like James Fox and his team, the weight of the evidence points to a different conclusion: that we are not alone in the universe, and that the beings who visited Varginha in 1996 may hold the key to unlocking the greatest mystery of our time. As Fox himself puts it, "This is the biggest story we've all been waiting for. The story that can settle the debate once and for all." Whether or not the Varginha case ultimately proves to be the smoking gun that UFO researchers have been seeking for decades remains to be seen. But one thing is clear: the case represents a watershed moment in the history of ufology, and its implications for our understanding of the universe and our place within it are profound and far-reaching. In the end, the Varginha incident reminds us that the truth is often stranger than fiction and that the universe is a far more mysterious and wondrous place than we can possibly imagine. As we continue to search for answers to the great questions of our time, cases like Varginha will undoubtedly play a crucial role in shaping our understanding of the cosmos and our place within it.