It has all the elements of a story that takes over the headlines for days. A voluminous investigation just published that interested parties have been chomping at the bit to see, but satisfies no one. Accusations of a coverup, wherein a whistleblower's concerns seem to have been ignored and lawmakers demanding answers on this very topic. And physical evidence presented by experts to policymakers which raise as many questions as it answers. And yet, because it doesn't include the name Biden nor Trump, it's all buried below the fold on page 23. I know, it's hard to believe, but there are other things in this world besides our latest political goings-on that should be raising eyebrows. Or in this particular case, maybe it's not of this world. And that's the point.
First, the report. More than a year in the making, it was penned by NASA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. They set out to investigate, from a scientific standpoint, the reports of Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena or UAP, a successor term that includes both Unidentified Flying Objects or UFO's, as well as other events and sightings that cannot be "immediately identified as known human-made or natural phenomena." The panel of 17 independent scientists held hearings, reviewed evidence and heard from witnesses and experts. Their findings, released this month, acknowledges the unexplained nature of the events, but says that the lack of any rigorous formal observation and measurement make it all but impossible to be certain of anything. Or as put by Nicola Fox, associate administrator for the agency's Science Mission Directorate, "While there are numerous eyewitness accounts and visuals associated with UAP, they're not consistent, they're not detailed, and they're not curated observations that can be used to make definitive scientific conclusions about the nature and the origin of UAP." To help advance the discussion, the panel recommends appointing a Director of UAP Research, as well as leveraging and integrating the various existing observational systems to provide better data to study.
Then there are the whistleblowers and accusations of a coverup. At a House Oversight Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs hearing held in July, multiple allegations of the covering up of UFO encounters and evidence were introduced by a trio of whistleblowers. In response to the allegations, six Congresspeople sent a request for more information to the Inspector General of the Intelligence Community. The IG wrote back this month that it "has not conducted any audit, inspection, evaluation or review" of the alleged UFO programs. Incredulous that there might be other, more pressing matters to focus on, committee member Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn) said it was a "coverup." In a tweet he wrote "The IC IG office did nothing to look into the information they received from David Grusch on UAP crash retrieval programs? They have no information they can give to Congress???" This in spite of the fact that he also noted in another context that "other things are going on. The, you know, with the looming shutdown and all that other stuff."
Finally, the evidence. South of the border, lawmakers in the Mexico were also holding hearings on UAP's. As part of that proceeding, they were presented with "alleged remains of non-human beings" in the form of tiny "bodies," displayed in glass cases with three fingers on each hand and elongated heads. Mexican journalist and long-time UFO enthusiast Jaime Maussan claimed were the corpses of extraterrestrials recovered in Peru. He said that he had them analyzed at Mexico's National Autonomous University, and that they were about 1,000 years old. Said Maussan "I think there is a clear demonstration that we are dealing with non-human specimens that are not related to any other species in our world and that all possibilities are open for any scientific institution to investigate it." Congressman Sergio Gutierrez, from President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's ruling Morena party, said, "We are left with reflections, with concerns and with the path to continue talking about this."
Taken together, it would seem that our new AI overlords are not the only alien presence we should be worried about. But at this point it's all a distant sideshow to the main event happening in Washington. Until then, keep your eyes peeled for more stories about the unexplained, and be ready to call home when that which has been flying below the radar pops above it, both figuratively and literally.
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Marc Wollin of Bedford has never seen a UFO. His column appears regularly in The Record-Review, The Scarsdale Inquirer and online at http://www.glancingaskance.blogspot.com/, as well as via Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
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