In last week’s blog, we looked at the beginning of the modern crop circle phenomenon that first got the attention of the media and UFO researchers in 198o. This was described in the 1986 report compiled by Paul Fuller and Jenny Randles (written by Randles) for the British UFO Research Association titled Mystery of the Circles. According to Randles, the idea that UFOs had something to do with the mystery came from the fact that the first circles appeared in the West Country in the area of Warminster, which had become famous in the 60’s as a UFO hotspot. When we left off, that idea was falling out of favor with researchers, particularly Ian Mrzyglod of the newly formed organization, PROBE, who is quoted from the March 1982, Vol. 2, No. 4, PROBE Report: “…even to suggest that the flattened circles were UFO landing nests is wildly speculative wishful thinking, without any foundation.” After a lull in attention in 1982, things picked up after eight sets of five circles appeared that were made up of one large circle surrounded by four smaller circles at equidistant locations. Prior to this, there had been only single circles or two or three in a row.
Playing a large part in the media attention was the fact that the circles appeared in the summer, often called the silly season due to the fact that stories of a less-than-serious nature are used as filler in the midst of what is traditionally a slow news period. And, it did get silly. One example presented by Randles is Daily Express columnist Jean Rook being sent to one of the sites “to come up with a lovely, poetic ode to ‘E.T.,’” the titular alien from the movie. According to Randles, Rook “found physical evidence of his presence in the midst of one of the rings – a poppy.”
Randles emphasizes that “serious UFO investigators refused to get involved” and notes that she, herself, refused to appear on BBC and ITV television, even though she had a new book to promote, The Pennine UFO Mystery. Read more
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In the Volume 26, Number 6, March 1981 Flying Saucer Review, there is an 
Brazil has a history of official UFO investigation almost as long as that of the United States. However, it has an official policy on disclosure that predates the U.S.’s by more than a decade. In 1954, the Brazilian Air Force started The First Confidential Inquiry into Unidentified Aerial Objects in response to the first major flap in that country. In 1969, the Sistema de Investigação de Objetos Aéreos Não Identificados (SIOANI) was established, and nearly 100 detailed case files were accumulated up until its termination in 1972. After this, in 1977, in response to reports of injuries and deaths as a result of UFO encounters in the area of Pará (mainly in Colores) Operação Prato was authorized by Colonel Protásio Lopes de Oliveira. This resulted in more than 2000 photos, 16 hours of film, and a 179-page report. The First Confidential Inquiry, SIOANI and Operação Prato files were classified for decades, but thanks to a freedom of information campaign begun in April of 2004 by the Brazilian UFOlogist and publisher of UFO Revista, Ademar José Gavaerd, many of the files were shown to him and other UFOlogists in 2005 as a prelude to releasing them to the general public. Then, in 2010, Brazil issued Ordinance 551/GC3, requiring every branch of the military and aviation sectors to collect and transfer all UFO reports to the Aerospace Defence Command in Brasilia along with any material proof by way of photos or video on a yearly basis. There, it is to be catalogued and made available to the public. Along with this, since 
In the course of researching UFO cases in Spanish speaking countries, one is bound to run into Scott Corrales and Inexplicata: The Journal of Hispanic UFOlogy. It exists today as a