Journalist Paola Harris and ufologist A.J. Gevaerd (ufo.com.br) discussed the movement towards UFO disclosure in Brazil and around the world. Gevaerd detailed how he and a group of investigators had been pressuring the Brazilian military for some time to release files related to UFOs, and had gathered thousands of signatures on a petition through their UFO-related magazine. Finally on May 20, 2005, he and a group of ufologists met with Brazilian military representatives and were shown a small number of files (View this report for more details).

Gevaerd highlighted two of the most significant UFO cases in Brazil, which the military turned over files to them about. One was "Operation Saucer," which took place in small communities off the Amazon over a lengthy period during the 1970s. Numerous people were attacked by "strange balls of light" that seemed to come from the sky, the water and the woods. The victims would fall unconscious, as though hit by a laser beam and there were many reports of disappearances, burnings, injuries and even some deaths, he said.In the other case, dubbed the "Official Night of UFOs," 21 objects, each approximately 100 meters in diameter, jammed radar air traffic in both Sao Paolo and Rio de Janeiro, yet intercept jets were unsuccessful at finding the mysterious ships, he reported.

Harris commented that in Mexico and Italy there has been some movement towards disclosure as well as in the U.K. through the efforts of Nick Pope, a former Ministry of Defence official. She also mentioned a case in Sicily she was investigating, where a contactee has reported communications with human-looking aliens.

Marijuana Ruling

First half-hour guest, medical marijuana advocate Chris Conrad commented on the recent Supreme Court 6-3 ruling which declared that federal agents may arrest sick people who use the drug. He said that this decision was expected but that it doesn't override medical marijuana state laws such as in California though it does allow for people to be prosecuted under federal jurisdiction. Conrad believes change needs to occur on a legislative level and suggested visiting activist sites such as mpp.org and drugpolicy.org.