September 29, 2010

UN to Employ Ambassador for Alien Visitors to Earth

by iona

Sometimes I really despair of the UN. As if there weren’t enough problems they aren’t dealing with well enough on Earth, they are now wasting their time and I can only imagine how much money, on the appointment of an ambassador to greet possible alien visitors to our planet. Mazlan Othman, 58, a Malaysian astrophysicist and current head of the UN’s Office for Outer Space Affairs (there is such a department?) has been handed the responsibility of welcoming extra-terrestrials and co-ordinating humanity’s response to their visit. According to the Outer Space Treaty on 1967, UN members agreed that alien visitors to the Earth must be sterilized. Professor Stephen Hawking has warned that aliens should be approached with caution, but it is understood that Othman has a more tolerant approach.

Othman will detail her proposed new role at a Royal Society Conference in the UK next week. I’d love to be at that one.
[Telegraph]