Mellon, the man is above reproach. If you have extraordinary proof to impugne his reputation, go ahead I'm all ears, otherwise attacking his credibility is not rational.
Easy Tiger!
I don't see anything in NorCal Dave's post that impugns Chris Mellon's reputation or that attacks his credibility, unless
we choose to interpret (probably accurate) evidence of Mellon's interests and associates in a negative way.
Chris Mellon was an advisor (and reportedly shareholder,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Mellon) in the "To The Stars" company (Wikipedia,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_the_Stars_(company)), which seems to be a good place to go if you're selling magic beans:
External Quote:
In its SEC filing, the company is recorded as having paid $35,000 for several items including "six pieces of Bismuth/Magnesium-Zinc metal" and a piece of aluminum.
[30] According to the company, the metals are from an unidentified flying object, and were previously "retained and studied" by
ufologist Linda Moulton Howe.
[30] Moulton Howe claimed in 2004 that the
metals become a "lifting body" when subjected to electromagnetic radiation.
[30] Today, however, she claims she has had the samples tested by
Carnegie Science's Department of Technical Magnetism in 1996 and again by Harold E. Puthoff and others on several occasions.
[31] According to a letter from Puthoff in 2012 the tests were unable to prove the alien origin of the samples or any "interesting/anomalous outcome"
(My emphasis- obviously an amazing claim which it appears the claimant has back-pedalled on).
Chris Mellon has referred to Luis Elizondo as a colleague, in what appears to be a positive context
External Quote:
A colleague of mine at To the Stars Academy, Luis Elizondo, used to run a Pentagon intelligence program that examined evidence of "anomalous" aircraft
...in "
The military keeps encountering UFOs. Why doesn't the Pentagon care?", Christopher Mellon,
Washington Post 9th March 2018
(Link here).
Apologies to Mr Elizondo in advance if I'm mistaken, but I think it's fair to say that some of his claims about UAPs, and US government knowledge about them, are not widely accepted.
In the same article, Mellon writes
External Quote:
If these craft mean that Russia, China or some other nation is concealing an astonishing technological breakthrough to quietly extend its lead, surely we should respond as we did then. Perhaps Russian President Vladimir Putin's recent
chest-thumping claims about propulsion breakthroughs are not pure braggadocio
...referring to President Putin's boasts about Russian weapons systems on 1st March 2018.
Useful summary here,
https://www.chathamhouse.org/2021/09/advanced-military-technology-russia/03-putins-super-weapons,
"
Advanced military technology in Russia", Bendett, S., Boulègue, M. et al, 2021, Chatham House
Mellon was clearly implying that Putin's
superoruzhie ('super weapons') might be based on ETI technology.
Considering Mellon's past employment and experience, this is an extraordinary statement. Russia has a long history of competent missile (and other weapons) development. And as it happens, Putin's hypersonic missiles don't represent any form of "propulsion breakthrough".
External Quote:
The truth is, the Kh-47M2 Kinzhal
hypersonic missile is actually little more than a conventional
air-launched ballistic missile with a design that dates back to the 1980s.
It has benefited a great deal from both intentional and less-than-intentional misconceptions about this new class of weapons, often cited as a reason the United States is lagging behind Russia in a
hypersonic arms race (that, as we've discussed before,
isn't quite what it seems either).
"
Why the 'hypersonic missile' Russia says it just used in Ukraine isn't as advanced as it sounds", Alex Hollings of Sandboxx News, Business Insider 21 March 2022, on
Business Insider (link here)
I've no reason to doubt that Chris Mellon is a decent, intelligent and hard-working man.
But I think it's legitimate to be aware of his chosen associates, and statements that he's made in the public realm, in the context of UAP investigations.
I think I agree with his main "political" views on the matter- that it makes sense to investigate UAP reports because they
might have defence significance (even if they've not been found to in the past). But any role for To The Stars or Mr Elizondo in such investigations is surely at least questionable, unless they're prepare to support their extraordinary claims with at least
some testable evidence.
And implying that Putin's armed forces might have ETI-derived technology is both extraordinary and unhelpful.