It's Not Aliens

DEEP SIGH

It’s not aliens. It’ll probably never be aliens. So stop. Please just stop.

"There is no indication of aliens or extraterrestrial activity with these recent takedowns."

Aliens have been having a moment in recent years.

For decades the notion of unidentified flying objects—UFOs—and little green men running around Roswell, New Mexico, remained comfortably confined along the fringes of societal discourse. But no longer. Serious people in the government are taking a serious look at the phenomenon.

The story of why this posture began to change begins about 15 years ago and is long and complex. (This New Yorker article is a good place to start.) But the basic gist is that then-Nevada politician Harry Reid, a powerful political figure who at times led the US Senate, began to take it seriously. So he started shoveling money at the Pentagon to study the issue.

Along the way, perhaps because of the stigma attached, the government stopped calling sightings of unidentified objects UFOs and began referring to them as unidentified anomalous phenomenon (UAP). The release of three videos in 2020 by the US Navy heightened public attention. Then, in 2021, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence released a much-anticipated assessment of the government's files on UAP.

This report, alas, held an unsatisfying conclusion for those who want to believe. "The limited amount of high-quality reporting on unidentified aerial phenomena hampers our ability to draw firm conclusions about the nature or intent of UAP," this report stated. In its nine pages, the report did not mention "aliens" a single time.

But the cat was out of the bag, and the government moved onward. Last December, the nation's buttoned-down space agency, NASA, named the members of a "study team" to determine how the space agency should analyze UAP. Knowing and respecting some of the members of this study team, I have no doubt that they will do good work, and we can rely on their conclusions.

Recent takedowns

All of this brings us to the recent spy balloon mania, during which US F-22 jets downed a Chinese balloon nine days ago and, subsequently, three unidentified objects over Canada and the United States. Given the lack of government transparency about what, exactly, these latter three objects were, conspiracy theories have multiplied. Misinformation, after all, loves nothing more than a vacuum.

The extent of the howls of "It must be aliens" was underlined on Monday when White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre felt compelled to address the issue during a press briefing. "There is no indication of aliens or extraterrestrial activity with these recent takedowns," she said. "I wanted to be sure the American people knew that, and it is important for us to say that from here."

So yeah, it's not aliens. Unless you believe the government is covering things up, of course.

Look, the universe is vast. It is so mind-bendingly vast that we cannot comprehend its immensity. There are billions of galaxies, and in each galaxy, there are billions of stars. One of the greatest scientific discoveries during the last two decades, thanks to the Kepler space telescope and other instruments, has confirmed that many, if not most, stars have planetary systems. So there are almost certainly billions and billions and billions of worlds out there upon which life like ours could arise.

But, in all probability, we haven't found it yet. Or rather, it hasn't found us yet, or revealed itself to us meager, carbon-based, Earth-confined wretches. Just why we haven't found it yet, by the way, is a fantastic philosophical question.

Extraordinary claims

I will close this article by referencing an astronomer and a physicist. The astronomer is Carl Sagan, perhaps the most gifted science communicator of the 20th century. He once said, "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence."

Certainly, the existence of an intelligent species capable of traveling between stars would be an extraordinary thing. And while there is plenty of "evidence" of unidentified flying objects in our skies, there is no "extraordinary" evidence that proves the case. I'm sorry, there just is not. The truth is, almost every hyped alien sighting can eventually be explained by a rather pedestrian phenomenon.

The second quote is simply a tweet from an English physicist, Brian Cox, today: "I've always suspected that an advanced alien civilization with the technology to travel at close to light speed across interstellar distances would arrive in Earth orbit unobserved and proceed to dispatch a fleet of small, easily detectable balloons into our atmosphere."

Pretty much, Brian. Pretty much.

A Thought

It occurs to me that the wingnuts are missing a really good opportunity to combine their penchant for the ridiculous with their kinda creepy obsession over the world's sexual behavior (or is that a redundancy?).

Anyhoo - it seems like somebody should've thought about how Valentine's Day is abbreviated as "VD" so that has to mean Jesus disapproves of how the media and the globalists and the immigrant caravan are leading the pious folk away from god and whatever the fuck else they usually throw into that mashup.

Just a thought. Happy VD, everybody!

WTF, Ivan?

The stupid wasteful insanity of war.

Guided Missile Killed U.S. Aid Worker in Ukraine, Video Shows

A Times analysis suggests that an intentional strike, not an indiscriminate attack, most likely killed Pete Reed. It is unclear whether the attackers knew he was with a group of aid workers.

Roughly a minute after an American paramedic, Pete Reed, and a team of aid workers began tending to a wounded civilian in the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut on Feb. 2, they were attacked. Mr. Reed, a former U.S. Marine volunteering on the war’s front lines, was killed, and several of his colleagues were wounded.

Volunteers at the scene initially attributed the strike to indiscriminate Russian shelling. But a frame-by-frame analysis of a video taken at the location — and shared with The New York Times — shows that Mr. Reed, who was unarmed, died in a targeted strike by a guided missile almost certainly fired by Russian troops.

A short video shows a missile hitting the white van as the aid workers are nearby.

The weapon that killed Pete Reed was a guided antitank missile most likely fired by Russian troops.

It is unclear if the Russians knew the group was made up of aid workers. But its convoy had markings that should have signaled to the Russians the type of vehicles they were hitting. One of the vehicles was clearly marked with a red cross, and the type of weapon used in the attack — a laser-guided antitank missile — is usually fired when a gunman sees and selects a target.

Still, the target in this case, a white Mercedes-Benz van, did not have any clearly visible medical markings, and while the aid workers were unarmed at least one medic was wearing military-style camouflage.

The video shows Mr. Reed and the group of aid workers standing beside the white van, which they were using to transport humanitarian supplies. A missile flying parallel to the ground directly hits the van, destroying it and killing Mr. Reed.

The footage appears to show that the strike involved a Kornet antitank guided missile, which has a range of around three miles. Mr. Reed and the aid workers were at a slightly elevated position along a street that led toward the Russian front line, around two miles away.

Mr. Laidinen said that his vehicle’s dash camera had also recorded the episode, and that the footage showed a second missile strike, which was aimed at another vehicle but missed its target. The footage has yet to be made public.

A volunteer named Roma, who was standing near Mr. Reed when the missile struck and who was wounded in the blast, told The Times in an interview that there had been no military units nearby. One of the vehicles at the scene was clearly marked as an ambulance, he said.

He provided only his given name because of safety concerns.

A photograph published by The Wall Street Journal shows an injured Norwegian medic running from the scene of the attack. It also shows the ambulance marked with a red cross on a white background across the street from where Mr. Reed and other volunteers were attacked.

Experts said the type of weapon used should have enabled the attacker to identify the nature of the target. With weapons such as these, “you have an expectation that the firer is going to have the ability to differentiate between a medical worker and a combatant,” said Marc Garlasco, a war crimes investigator who is in Poland training Ukrainian teams investigating war crimes.

Mr. Garlasco added that the episode required further investigation, but that on its face it was a “potential war crime.”

A video of the aftermath shows the aid workers’ white van destroyed by the attack. Debris is strewn around the area, and a body is lying lifeless on the ground.

Bakhmut, an industrial city surrounded by salt mines with a prewar population of around 70,000 people, has been under intense bombardment since the summer. In recent weeks, Russian troops have come increasingly close to encircling the city.

With a small population of civilians still present in the city, aid workers like Mr. Reed and his teammates have served as lifelines for people sheltering in basements without heat and with dwindling rations. On Monday, the Ukrainian military said it would no longer allow aid groups into the city.

Mr. Reed and his team were alerted to the wounded civilian by Ukrainian troops that had just returned from the area. The street had been under shelling or missile attack at some point: At least one other vehicle had been destroyed in the same area, though it was unclear when, Roma said.

Ukrainian forces traverse the battlefield in all types of civilian vehicles, including privately owned sedans and school buses. It is therefore possible that Mr. Reed was targeted because his team had simply driven into a kill zone frequently targeted by Russian troops.

Today's Today

Love: a temporary insanity

which is curable by marriage.

⬇︎ click to embiggen ⬇︎

That Was Close

No word yet on whether or not United imposed an extra In-Flight Entertainment Fee.

United Flight Plummeted in Terrifying 45-Second Dive: Report

A United Airlines flight plummeted from the air and came as close as 775 feet above the Pacific Ocean in a terrifying, previously unreported incident on December 18. United Airlines Flight UA1722 dived in an “unexplained” descent at nearly 8,600 feet per minute shortly after takeoff, The Air Current reports, and lasted approximately 45 seconds before it recovered.

The flight was bound for San Francisco and had taken off from Kahului Airport in Maui at 2:29 p.m. without fuss, despite flying in stormy weather.

Analyzing available data, The Air Current said the flight reached 2,200 feet before suddenly diving. The flight was “in between radio calls with air traffic controllers in Maui” throughout the 45-second ordeal.

“The climb produced forces of nearly 2.7 times the force of gravity on the aircraft and its occupants,” the report said.

Despite the incident, the flight landed in San Francisco after climbing 33,000 feet and departed on its next flight to Chicago just over two hours later. A spokesperson for United confirmed the incident and that a formal internal safety report was filed upon landing.

The craft was also inspected before its next flight. The result led to the pilots of the plane receiving additional training.

I think I won't be traveling any time soon. Seems like shit's pretty fucked up lately.

Today's Conspiracy Fantasy

Everything unexplained can be, and will be, explained.

What is this something is happening #UFO #Canada #USA #aliens #Montanaufo #UFOshotdown #UFOSightings #ufoalaska pic.twitter.com/xZLrshWRXW

— World War 3 (@Worldwar_3_) February 13, 2023

Fact-checked by: Myth Detector

FALSE: The Blue Beam, a joint project of NASA and the United Nations, uses the most powerful technologies to spread a new religion on Earth and create various simulation images to establish total control over humans, after which the New World Order will finally be established.

Explanation: Blue Beam is a conspiracy theory about the New World Order that has been around since 1994. It is noteworthy that during the pandemic caused by the spread of the coronavirus, the Blue Beam theory once again came to the fore as the scenario described by Serge Monast the Antichrist uses the method of epidemics for establishing control over humans in the third, final phase. Conspiracy theorists believe that this process has already begun.

Fouling The Nest

East Palestine OH - Feb 2023

Notice the responders walking around in the clear - no PPE except vests and hard hats.

Maybe it's OK - they don't need suits and masks.

Maybe the owners and their insurance company are downplaying the whole thing now so they can claim ignorance somewhere down the road when the lawsuits start.

Seems a little odd that the local poison center wasn't consulted - or we just didn't hear about it - maybe it was and they just didn't have much to say (?)  Unlikely.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a full list of toxic chemicals that were released when a cargo train derailed near the border between Ohio and Pennsylvania on February 3.

At about 8:55 p.m. ET, a Norfolk Southern train of around 150 cars derailed near the Ohio town of East Palestine, 20 of those cars carrying hazardous materials.

The derailment caused a huge fire and, fearing a massive explosion that would release noxious gases and shrapnel into the surrounding area, emergency responders intentionally breached five cars to let out the chemicals inside.

The chemicals were diverted into a trench and burnt off. Officials warned, however, that it would send toxic gases phosgene—used during World War I—and hydrogen chloride into the atmosphere.

Environmental regulators have been monitoring the air and drinking water around the site of the derailment, and have so far said both remain unaffected by the spill.

Residents of East Palestine were allowed to return to their homes after chemicals observed in the atmosphere following the controlled release were found to be at safe levels. Some have complained of headaches and nausea, according to the Associated Press, and pets have died in suspected cases of chemical exposure.

In a February 10 letter sent by Jason El-Zein, an emergency response manager at the EPA, to Matt Gernand, deputy general counsel for the Norfolk Southern Railway Company, a list of toxic chemicals were identified as having been found to have contaminated air, soil or water surrounding the crash site. They were:

• Vinyl chloride: a colorless gas that is used to make polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastics and is highly flammable and decomposes to make toxic fumes. According to the National Library of Medicine, it is also carcinogenic and can cause other health issues.
• Butyl acrylate: a clear liquid that is used for making paints, sealants and adhesives. It is flammable and can cause skin, eye and respiratory irritation.
• Ethylhexyl acrylate: a colorless liquid used to make paints and plastics. It can cause skin and respiratory irritation and, under moderate heat, can produce hazardous vapor.
• Ethylene glycol monobutyl: a colorless liquid used as a solvent for paint and inks, as well as some dry cleaning solutions. It is classed as acutely toxic, able to cause serious or permanent injury, and highly flammable. Vapors can irritate the eyes and nose, and ingestion can cause headaches and vomiting.

El-Zein wrote that the EPA "has spent, or is considering spending, public funds to investigate and control releases of hazardous substances or potential releases of hazardous substances" and had determined that the rail company "may be responsible under [the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act] for clean-up of the site or costs EPA has incurred in cleaning up the site."

When asked to comment, a Norfolk Southern spokesperson told Newsweek that the company had received the EPA's letter "and we have confirmed to them that we have and will continue to perform or finance environmental monitoring and remediation.

"Our hazmat team was in East Palestine within an hour of the incident, and the response continues today in close coordination with the Ohio and U.S. EPA," as well as other agencies, they added.

The company is also facing a lawsuit, filed by two Pennsylvania residents on Thursday, calling for the rail operator to pay for medical screenings for anyone within a 30-mile radius of the crash site alongside damages. The rail operator has declined to comment on the lawsuit. The EPA is already assisting health screenings offered by Norfolk Southern.

Officials expressed calm when lifting evacuation orders, with Ohio Governor Mike DeWine describing air quality readings as "basically similar to what they would have expected prior to the train wreck" during a press conference.

Kirk Kollar of the Ohio EPA said the levels of toxic chemicals observed in nearby waterways "were immediately toxic to fish," and that spilt material had leaked into Sulphur Run. Lesley Run, Little Beaver Creek and the Ohio River were being monitored.

The U.S. EPA said on Friday that Norfolk Southern contractors had installed a dam and a water bypass at Sulphur Run to prevent further contamination, and had also stopped the remaining spilled chemicals entering the stream.

The EPA is working with the Ohio EPA to investigate soil contamination at the derailment site.

Today's Keith

Why is the investigation taking so long? Because they have a shitload of shit to figure out along the way.

If you don't know the scope of (eg) the classified documents crimes, then your effectiveness going after the perps will be hampered - especially when you don't know what you need to know about what the perps did - and you sure as fuck don't wanna be issuing indictments that could reveal sources and methods to your adversaries in Russia and China and the GOP, et al.

This is one giant sticky wicket.

Another One Bites The Dust

Senior law enforcement official, fired from Interior Ministry last month, found dead outside Moscow

TASS and another media source report that Major General Vladimir Makarov, the former deputy director of the Interior Ministry’s Center for Combating Extremism, was found dead in the village of Golikovo outside Moscow. This information is not yet officially confirmed.

Center for Combating Extremism, also known as “Center E,” was formed in 2008 to suppress political protest in Russia.

According to the Russian media, Makarov’s body was found at this suburban home on February 13. It is speculated that he may have committed suicide, after being fired from the Interior Ministry last month.

Today's Dumbass

An attempt was made to justify Trump's bad behavior.