Customer Reviews

Spaceships of the Pleiades

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(13)

 

 

It does not matter whether the Billy Meier Case is legitimate or not when writing a review on Kal's book. The fact of the matter is, as another reviewer has already put it, Kal's investigative approach is seriously lacking.

The Billy Meier case has over 100 independent witnesses who have witnessed some form of "evidence" of alien activity connected to Billy Meier over the years to this present day. Kal makes no attempt to try to let any of them speak in his book. Without any good basis for doing so, he basically accuses all 100+ witnesses of being liars and/or of being in on this "grand hoax" without offering any good motive or explanation for why there would be so many witnesses in the first place and why all of the witnesses, even the many who are in no way affiliated with Meier, would be caught up in such a scheme.

There are over 360 photographs still in existence to this day that can be examined, some which still have the original slides in existence despite what Korff has falsely stated. Korff makes every attempt in his book only to analyze the least impressive of the photographs still in existence and expects the reader to assume that all of the arguments against the weakest ones will also hold up against the more impressive ones that baffled those who can definitely be considered experts in the field of photography and such, as opposed to Korf. As was stated by another, he makes no attempt to analyze any of the videos but tries to let the reader believe that his explanations for the least impressive of the photos can also be used to explain all of the videos and all of the other photos. He has no "smoking guns" as he states. He only says how Meier COULD have created even the least impressive photos but no definitive proof even of these that would hold up in a court of law.

I have read better research papers from 6th graders than this book by Kal Korff. For most of the book, Kal sounds like he is an angry teenager talking on the phone to one of his friends. As other analyses of this book have shown, Korff takes no care to make correct references to other Meier literature, he seems to deliberately falsify other documentation (likely with the hope that his reader won't have access to the other documents that he is referencing so that they won't be able to verify what he writes). He makes no attempt to try to look into the story itself (despite the title of the book being the Billy Meier STORY) and all of the various events that surrounded the case while the photos and other evidences were being produced, such as the people who were actually living in the Meier home for weeks at a time, searching for models, photo labs, science journals, etc. and who were unable to find anything. It is basically a work of name-calling, baseless accusations, deliberate falsifications, and to say the best: shoddy journalism.

If the Meier case is a hoax, Kal's book is not the definitive expose of revealing the hoax. All areas of the case, especially the evidences that have already been documented and analyzed by experts, need careful attention to be given to them, with good explanations for each of them in order for it to be properly debunked. How easy is it to complain about all of the weak evidence of the case while completely ignoring all of the strong evidence and try to form one's conclusions based on one's ignorance? Many, like Kal, do this on a regular basis.

The reason I gave this book a two-star rating is because the case DID need some effort on the con- side. All other books (not articles) that have been published in English on the case are on the pro- side. Kal did certainly spend a lot of time and effort on the con- side to give the whole controversy some balance so I'll give him a star for that. However, if this is the only definitive con- book ever published on the case, it seems only to add more credibility to the case rather than disproving it if one looks into all of the available material that has been published on the case. "Smoking guns" must come in other forms than what Kal has given to us.

Kal K. Korff -- Untruth and Dubious Intentions
Many people have asked about FIGU's opinion of Kal K. Korff and his book Spaceships of the Pleiades (1995, Prometheus Books). Well, frankly, we do not like it when someone publishes a shoddy book full of untruth as it is the case with Korff's (WV). Moreover, we assume that the content of a book gives one a hint about the way of thinking, if not the character of the author (WV).

By using extra big types, Kal K. Korff was able to 'stretch' his book up to 439 pages. Acknowledgements alone cover more than 10 pages. It seems that a thick book shall generate an impression of importance and respectability.

Essentially, Korff's book is about his trip to Switzerland. Under the assumed name of STEVE THOMAS, and in disguise, he visited the Semjase Silver Star Center, Schmidrueti, in Summer 1991. He was accompanied by Tina Layton. Korff had opportunity to speak to FIGU members on two days for some hours. He didn't speak a word with Billy Meier.

Since nearly all pages of Korff's book contains information that is untrue and exaggerated (WV) it is impossible to list them all. It would need the space of another book.

A few excerpts from Korff's book shall demonstrate his dubious (WV) intentions to manipulate and misuse the readers for his bad aims. Some of Korff's claims and distortions are so absurd that a reasonable person can but laugh.



Korff's claim (page 38):
"... During one of these alleged time-travel adventures in the past, he [Billy Meier] met with Jesus Christ! ... but he is Jesus Christ reincarnated!"

The truth:
Never, not verbally or in writing, did Billy Meier ever claim having met Jesus Christ, or to be his reincarnation. Billy Meier vehemently dissociates himself from such impertinent claims and rumors by Korff and others.



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Korff's claim (page 64):
"Although we had made it only a few hundred feet onto the property, it was already obvious that Meier was anything but "poor," contrary to what his proponents would have everyone believe. ... After walking about ten minutes, Tina and I came across a large brown wooden building with an angled roof off to our left. As we would later discover, this was a "guest house" ..."

The truth:
The Semjase Silver Star Center isn't owned by Billy Meier. All FIGU members are joint owners! Besides, it is only a 3-minute walk from the Restaurant Freihof to the Center's first house. And: we don't have any "guest house".



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Korff's claim (pages 67-69):
"... From where I stood, at the railing which prevented me from straying off the main gravel roadway, I could see down at the bottom of the hillside what were the faint remnants of three "UFO landing rings" that had been there since at least June 1980. ... Even though the landing tracks were eleven years old by the time of my visit and were barely visible to the naked eye, ... Even though my video camera has a 10x zoom lens, the landing-tracks proved to be too far away to observe any meaningful details from the location where I was standing. ... incredibly Gary Kinder [author of LIGHT YEARS] says he never saw any landing-tracks during the entire five weeks he spent living at Meier's place! Instead, Kinder claims he only "talked to several people who had seen them and who had photographed them while still fresh. It is doubtful that Gary Kinder's claim is true, since the three UFO landing-tracks on Billy Meier's property are directly behind his house and down the hill in his own back yard! Not only are they easily visible from numerous locations throughout the property, but are in fact impossible to miss most of the time when walking back and forth between the guest house and Billy Meier's residence. ..."



The truth:
Fig. 7 on page 65 'clearly' shows
1) that the meadow where Menara landed her beamship on June 15, 1980, lies hidden behind bushes and trees;
2) the exact landing place lies hidden behind a knoll on the hillside and would even be invisible to the naked eye, if there were no trees to obstruct the view from the house;
3) The landing tracks - circles of grass pressed counterclockwise to the ground - "vanished" as soon as the meadow was cut and the cows were grazing.

Conclusion: Either Korff had hallucinations, or he is a ... (WV)!

Concerning Korff's 'drawing' of the "Meier's compound" (Fig. 10 on page 70): All distances and proportions are incorrect (the landing tracks are much farther away from the house than may be seen on Korff's drawing!). Is Korff really not capable of producing a correct drawing? Or does he deliberately create a false picture in order to lead the readers onto a wrong path?!



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Korff, the "meticulous" investigator (page 73):
"... Elisabeth Gruber, the wife of Guido Moosbrugger, ..."



The truth:
Elisabeth Gruber is married to a Mr. Gruber. Elisabeth Moosbrugger is Guido Mossbrugger's wife.



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Korff's fantastic ideas (page 77):
"... such as the "fact" that Billy Meier's full, true name is purportedly "Eduard Albert Meier-Zafiriou." However, a subsequent check of the local Canton Police for Meier's region in the town of Hinwil revealed that there is no record of Billy Meier's "true" name containing the word "Zafiriou" in it. ..."

In a footnote Korff writes: "The name "Zafiriou" has been added by Meier in recent years as his "mission" has taken on more religious overtones. Zafiriou is supposed to be Meier's name as a prophet, reincarnated from a past life."



The truth:
In Switzerland it is custom that a husband adds the name of his wife to his own. The maiden name of Billy Meier's wife was - in Greece - (Miss) Zafiriou. - Simple, isn't it?!



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Korff (pages 78 ff):
Falsifications and distortions concerning the Talmud Jmmanuel



The truth:
Prof. James W. Deardorff answers: A refutation of false claims and distortions by Korff



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Korff's claim (page 95):
"... for among the Meier faithful we encountered (as well as in the pro-Meier literature), we are told repeatedly that Billy Meier is a simple farmer who is illiterate and has only sixth-grad education. ..."



The truth:
Billy Meier went to school for 8 years, just like most of the other children in Switzerland at that time. Yes, he lives now on a farm, but he is no farmer. His chief occupation is writing books: He preserves the vast spiritual knowledge that he himself gathered or has received to the benefit of the present and future generations.

To call Billy Meier an "illiterate" person (read: he has a limited intelligence) was the work/invention of Lee and Brit Elders. For anyone who understands German and wishes to test Billy's illiteracy it is advisable to read one of Billy's fairy tales, e.g. "Die Frühlingsprinzessin".



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Korff's claims (pages 98/99):
Korff planned to take soil samples from "UFO landing tracks" on the Center's ground and writes in his book:
"... The perimeter of the Meier compound turned out to be fairly fortified; weaving my way through its defenses would prove to be a challenge. There was a high risk of being seen, due to the location of the tracks. For this reason, I decided to return to the compound at night, dressed in U.S. Army camouflage clothing so that I would minimize my visibility. As Tina and I drove back up the mountain past the Meier property, we parked our car just on the other side of the hill and walked very carefully back down toward the upper parts of the compound. For safety reasons, I made sure that Tina stayed behind, close enough to our car so that she could drive away in the event I did not return or was caught. When I approached one of the electric fences, I calmly slid underneath it, making sure that I did not touch any of its wires. After clearing the fence, I slipped on down the hill and around to where I saw the remains of one of the landing-tracks. Removing some plastic bottles from my pouch, I obtained both control and specimen soil samples. Now that I had my evidence, it was time to get out of there quickly before I got caught. With the existence of dogs at Meier's place, a weapons depot for use by his people when the end of civilization nears, security personnel, and the fact that Meier himself often carries a pistol, I am lucky I was not detected. ... I then ran to our car and Tina and I drove back to the ..."



The truth:
Everyone who is familiar with the Center grounds will surely laugh if he or she reads Korff's fantastic story.

1. The only electric and removable fence (with only one wire) was installed around the pasture area where the cows were grazing. There is no road or path in the Center that is barred by a door or a gate, and there is even a public path (a "Wanderweg") that leads through our land and near the house.

2. According to Korff's descripition of his "nocturnal visit" he wasn't at the actual "landing site".

3. Questions: What soil samples did Korff obtain and take with him to America, since he a) wasn't at the correct location and b) wasn't able find even a single blade of grass left from the landing tracks (from 11 years earlier)?! If we FIGU members can't find non-existing landing tracks in broad daylight, how will Korff succeed at night?

4. For more than ten years we don't have a dog anymore.

5. And the "weapons depot"? - OK, we have a depot of pitchforks; and if some group member would claim that we own an atomic bomb and store it in the cellar doubtlessly some idiots would believe this. - In Switzerland, most males have to serve in the Army. They get a gun or a pistol and are allowed to take it home. After you quit the Army you may keep the gun as a present. - Yes, we have some guns and pistols, all legally registered by the authorities. (By the way: There have been 19 assassination attempts on Billy Meier within the past 27 years! Note of October 2002)

6. Imagine: On a peaceful summer night, Korff is running to his car, sweating, in his U.S. Army camouflage clothing.



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Korff's claim (page 179, Fig. 47 and 48) :
He claims "that the background scenery has changed entirely, and that the cloud formations do not resemble those in his first five pictures!"



The truth:
If Korff would have troubled himself to take a closer look at the two pictures he would have noticed that Billy Meier, after shooting the first photo, made some steps to the left to take the next one He would have noticed that the distant snowfield just at the right border of the fir tree is exactly identical with that 1.5 cm to the left of the same fir tree in the second photo! And if he would have looked even closer he would have noticed that it's the same cloud formation in both photos, viewed from a different angle since Billy Meier had walked some steps to the left.



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Korffs claim (page 198, Fig. 66):
"My edge enhancement showing a supportive device or what appears to be a suspension line above the "UFO" as it exists in Meier's photo number 199."



Question:
Why does the "suspension line" curve upward, if a model should be attached to it?!



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Korff's claims (pages 201 to 207):
"Meier's Hasenboel-Langenberg "UFO" photos show a small object suspended close to the camera, in front of the large tree. The model ..."



The truth:
Prof. James W. Deardorff answers: A refutation of false claims and distortions by Korff

The whole series of the 34 Hasenboel-Langenberg photos is available as a beautiful poster from FIGU.



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Korff indulges in fantasies (pages 261 to 264):
"Billy Meier says that while he was "in outer space for five days" he was fortunate enough to photograph one of God's eyes! When mentioning Meier's claim of having "photographed" God's eye in my 1981 book, the reaction by Meier's supporters (especially Wendelle Stevens) was most peculiar. They denied not only that Meier had ever said such a thing, they also ignored the fact that I had received copies of these actual photos from Colman VonKeviczky, who had received them from Hans Jacob."



The truth:
On his 5-day journey through the universe Billy Meier had photographed - among other objects - the Ring Nebula in the constellation of Lyra. The peculiar thing about this ring nebula is that its man-made. A self-appointed "god", in his megalomania, destroyed a solar system - as a symbol of his power. That's the reason why this nebula is called JHWHMATA (= the eye of god) by the Pleiadians/Plejarans. If Korff would have studied the Meier literature as thoroughly as he is boasting on page 137 of his book, he would have read the facts in the Contact Notes.

As evidence of the "high intelligence" and "serious doggedness" of certain Meier enemies we will present a last example to the readers:

Guido Moosbrugger, in his book "and yet... they fly!" (ISBN 0-9711523-0-6) on page 206 refers to VonKeviczky (director of ICUFON USA) and Korff and quotes:

"... when asked why he hadn't photographed both of God's eyes, amazingly he (Billy Meier) answered that this had not been possible since his (God's) other eye had winked toward his Pleiadian companion Semjase."



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Commentary by Walter H. Andrus, Jr., International Director, Mutual UFO Network, Inc. (MUFON) on the back cover of Korff's book: "Kal Korff must be congratulated for his determination and persistence in seeking the truth. ..."

Dear readers, now it's up to you whether - and where - you want to search for the truth!

Before I got this book in 1995 I had bought Kal's first effort back in 1985. Both need(ed) a good editor! That aside, this book has its good and bad points. The good ones have been pointed out by the other reviewers. My complaints, as a former editor, are about the poor, pixelated quality of most of the photos - making them almost useless, the excessive use of Kal's name and/or initials on almost every page (ego, here), the continuance of his erroneous claim that Meier's 35mm RANGEFINDER camera is a 35mm SLR, and the worst omittance, that of any meanigful comments and examination of Meier's films which, when viewed, have to give one thought about what is going on with Meier. His photos may have been proven questionable or downright hoax but, please, explain how Meier hoaxed the films. How, as one can see in the video of his films, he made the craft dematerialize and materialize in one frame with the accompanying optical effects. Please explain how the craft MATERIALIZES at the bottom of the mountain after disappearing from the top of the screen and when you see this on frame-by-frame analysis the craft doesn't materialize all at once, as you would expect of a hoax. It does so in stages! Eventually becoming a full craft from a pinpoint that gets "fatter." Explain how a model, no matter how large, can look huge as does the craft that emits lights and does a "pendulum" act in the constant wind (not the one over the tree). Please don't come back with poles and strings. We need Kal to do a similar effort for the films as he did for the photos. And if he does, I hope that the quality of the finished product will improve over "Spaceships..." I admire what he did, but the execution (book) left me wanting.

"Billy" Meier is a sort of latter-day George Adamski, but twice as hard to swallow. Obvious from the reviews below, there are some people who just HAVE to believe the malarkey coming out of Switzerland. In spite of the fact that Meier's films make Ed Wood's flying saucers look good, they have a NEED to believe that beautiful, blond, benevolent aliens have selected a Swiss with a shady (to say the least) background as their front-man to save civilization from itself. The saucers, cobbled together from trash-can lids and assorted odds and ends, have a sort of Victorian, "H.G. Wells-ian" look about them that is charming in it's naivete, but are awfully hard on the gullibility index. I wish I had a rack of "I WANT TO BELIEVE" posters to sell these unfortunate people, but the next best thing would be to sit them down and have them read this book. The deprogramming may not be comfortable, but it's for your own good.

If Korff has an axe to grind, it's that he himself has had a UFO sighting experience, and is essentially sick and tired of the subject being the butt-end of jokes because of charlatans such as Meier (who claims to have traveled with the UFOnauts through time and space, met Jesus, and had all SORTS of wonderful trip to the mushroom planet adventures).

Korff went undercover to the Meier compound to see for himself what was going on, and documents his findings here. It isn't a pretty picture. Meier has made some big-time bucks over the years preying on the extra-terrestrial hopes of some apparently very impressionable people. It's about time somebody asked hard questions about exactly what is this clown up to, and Korff does a pretty good job of it. The main shortcoming *I* see is that Korff himself seems to be a UFO newbie, or he would recognize some of the old-tyme hogwash from Adamski's days.

Those who find Korff's tone harsh or accusatory certainly haven't read any Phil Klass, probably the best known UFO debunker. Korff isn't a "debunker" as such: he's a sceptic, and demands a whole lot better evidence than Meier is able to come up with. He's no friend of the old phoney, and doesn't mind letting that come through in his writing. More power to him. With all the "Sightings"-variety baloney on the idiot box, a good dose of pragmatic investigation is worth it's weight in gold. Keep up the good work, Kim.

This is one of the worst researched books on the Billy Meier UFO Case I have ever read. In fact this book is so bad that I have to wonder if it was a deliberate attempt at character assassination. Anyone mildly familiar with the Billy Meier case can easily see how poorly researched this book is. So many facts are wrong that it would take an entire book to correct them. If you are interested in the true facts of this case I recommend you read "LIGHT YEARS" By Gary Kinder, "UFO CONTACT FROM THE PLEIADES" by Wendell Stevens or the new book "AND YET THEY FLY" by Guido Moosbrugger. Any of these books are far superior to this book!

Over the years, I have read more than 100 books on extraterrestrial activity. This is the first book on the subject that made no attempt what so ever at being objective. As an author myself, I understand the standards of quality that most publishers demand. I am completely amazed that Korff was able to find a publisher. If you have read Korff's book and thought that it was convincing, try searching the web for an article entitled "Analysis of Korff's Spaceships of the Pleiades" written by Jeroen Jansen. Jansen performed a point by point analysis of Kroff's criticisms in a much more objective light than Korff ever used. Jansen also points out that mainstream UFO organization officers praised Korff's book. By doing that these officers proved that the brilliant article, "The Psychology of Dreamland" by Terry Hansen was right on the mark; the people who have volunteered to be officers of UFO organizations are debunkers who work for the government. To recap, the most interesting aspect of Kroff's book is that he was able to publish a book that was wholly unacceptable by modern journalistic standards.

Kal Korff's book about Billy Meier is a thesis on his own imagination. Constantly explaining his in-depth "research" of discovering Meier "hoaxed" all 1,200 photos of UFOs, including 7 8mm films and metal samples that reputable, credible scientists with degrees in their fields have been unable to explain as a hoax backed up by the generality "they're models held up with strings" etc., is proof the book should be displayed in the humor section of a bookstore. Since the compound that belongs to Meier's GROUP (not himself) has an Open Sunday 52 times a year, how can anyone pretend they "infiltrated" it? Showing some honesty and respect will allow anyone to sit and talk to various people there and share their own UFO experiences. Meier knows no one believes him and never will until one of the UFOs lands on their own lawn, or that of the White House on CNN. In the meantime, he writes books about his experiences and his group, the F.I.G.U., has established a Web Site to give free data to interested persons. Checking out www.figu.ch should help people experience and learn some of the data Meier was given, on the condition he would publish it so that people on Earth would have a chance to learn something. A look at the conditions around out planet should convince anyone we could use a new viewpoint.

Any investigation into a subject that fabricates evidence as Mr Karl Korf has to back up his vitriolic attacks should be viewed as highy suspect. Avoid or at least do some research on Mr Korf before purchasing or reading this crap. I suggest having a look at the website "Karl is an idiot" for further information, it is interesting reading and more factually based in my opinion than this book.

Don't waste your money on this trash. Randolph Winters put out a much better book, and you can download it on Amazon for $5.99.

Kal Korff will also tell you that he works for the CIA, among other of his nonsense claims. Such LIES come out of both sides of his mouth at once, it's a wonder how the man eats.