Lois & Clark Forums Forums General Discussion Off Topic Galactic Appeasement: UN to Appoint First Ambassador to Space Aliens

Seems like the UN has nothing better to do with all the money they get from the US than create a totally useless department.

I, for one, welcome our Kryptonian overlords with the reminder that I get to be Kal El's very favorite concubine.

You know, I'm trying to think if I should be outraged or amused over this. I think I'll be amused unless they're actually paying this guy. If there's money involved, then I'll be outraged.

Ehh, maybe *they* know something we don't kno-....nah, not believing that very much....

That paper is going to look REALLY stupid if it turns out that the Men In Black have been covering up alien contact for decades or something...

Two things. The story is false. She is the head of the UN Office of Outer Space Affairs so the cost would be adding another line to her job description. So I think they should actually do it, thinking about unlikely things ahead of time so you don't so something stupid is good.

Well, perhaps not false as such, but certainly exaggerated to make it seem that this was a new post being set up to do nothing but this and nothing else.

I suspected as much when I googled the story and discovered all of the links that came up led to rightwing blogs or newspapers. I couldn't find any source that wasn't affiliated to a rightwing agenda. Which made me highly suspicious as to the veracity of the piece from the outset. So, thanks for setting the record straight.

My first response to your post was "They have an Outer Space Department?" So I went looking for that, too. And, now my response is..."Of course they have an Outer Space Department!" It makes sense when you have to sort out treaties on space debris, satellite positioning and all the other myriad earth-bound issues that we already have going on right now between nations as to how space is used. And it seems like a fascinating job to do:

UN Outer Space Department

Sounds perfectly sensible, really.

LabRat

What do you mean the story is false? The UN named someone in charge of meeting extra terrestrials. They REALLY DID.

And don't tell me that the woman isn't going to get a salary increase and maybe even a staff for her new title. That's how bureaucratic big governments work, you know, taking taxpayer money and putting it into pointless projects just so someone can add another tic on their job description and hire another family member at taxpayer expense.

I don't see how a conservatives ideal to stop wasting hard earned taxpayer money on pointless projects makes this story any less true. This is the same UN that appointed Iran as the leader of their human rights commision. The same Iran that buries women alive for breaking religious laws. You tell me how anything the UN does is worth the 40 hours a week I spend in a cubicle.

I've never actually said this here before, because, well, knowing there are folcs on both sides of the political spectrum, it just seemed to me to push the boundary of good manners. But, now that you've crossed that hurdle for me, I've got to admit that I feel the exact same way (in reverse, of course!)

Whenever I hear reports coming from the left (HuffPo, Media Matters, MSNBC, etc.), I become highly suspicious as to the veracity of the report. (Which is a polite way of saying I disbelieve it absolutely.) Unless, of course, I find the information collaborated by a source I have confidence in.

In this case, I actually did find this story reported by media outlets on both left and right. These reports all include updates now, stating that Othman is denying the report. We do know that she has spoken in the past about her belief in extraterrestral life, as have many respected scientists, from Carl Sagen to Stephen Hawking (so that's no big deal).

However, knowing she holds these beliefs, I don't know if anyone can really be sure at this point whether she was simply misquoted regarding her alleged quest to become an "ambassador for alien life", or whether she is backtracking now in response to the universal ridicule the idea has been met with.