how is there not a thread for the US DoD’s latest UFO program

Officials with the program have also studied videos of encounters between unknown objects and American military aircraft — including one released in August of a whitish oval object, about the size of a commercial plane, chased by two Navy F/A-18F fighter jets from the aircraft carrier Nimitz off the coast of San Diego in 2004.

Mr. Reid, who retired from Congress this year, said he was proud of the program. “I’m not embarrassed or ashamed or sorry I got this thing going,” Mr. Reid said in a recent interview in Nevada. “I think it’s one of the good things I did in my congressional service. I’ve done something that no one has done before.”

...

Mr. Elizondo, in his resignation letter of Oct. 4, said there was a need for more serious attention to “the many accounts from the Navy and other services of unusual aerial systems interfering with military weapon platforms and displaying beyond-next-generation capabilities.” He expressed his frustration with the limitations placed on the program, telling Mr. Mattis that “there remains a vital need to ascertain capability and intent of these phenomena for the benefit of the armed forces and the nation.”

Tom Ley’s take is fun: https://theconcourse.deadspin.com/someone-explain-to-me-the-alien-alloys-before-i-fucking-1821387673

Charlie Pierce takes it more seriously, or not, I can’t entirely tell: http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a14457484/pentagon-ufo-program/

Why didn't I get these alien metals, I am annoyed.

We understand the periodic table pretty thoroughly by now, and we know a helluva lot about crystalline structures, and we have electron microscopes so we can see into structures at a molecular level of detail. So, how could it be that aliens can combine metals in ways that defeat our ability even to describe them? Seems... a bit far-fetched to me.

as if this isn’t weird enough on the face of it let us not forget that this is all part of a pr campaign for the ufo truther group led by the dipshit from blink 182

Mr. Elizondo has now joined Mr. Puthoff and another former Defense Department official, Christopher K. Mellon, who was a deputy assistant secretary of defense for intelligence, in a new commercial venture called To the Stars Academy of Arts and Science. They are speaking publicly about their efforts as their venture aims to raise money for research into U.F.O.s.

Tom DeLonge
President & CEO
Tom DeLonge is the co-founder, President and interim CEO of To The Stars Academy of the Arts and Science. As President of the company’s subsidiary, To The Stars Inc., since 2015, he was primarily engaged within the entertainment sector. His career spans over two decades, selling over 25 million records worldwide with the bands he co-founded, Blink182 and Angels & Airwaves. Prior to forming the TTS Academy, Mr. DeLonge co-founded Really Likeable People, Inc. (“RLP”), the parent company of international consumer lifestyle brands including Atticus Clothing and Macbeth Footwear, and the technology monetization platform, Modlife. Mr. DeLonge has taken his award-winning creative content that spans music, books, and film and built To The Stars Inc. as a vertically integrated entertainment business that develops, produces and distributes multi-media and merchandise world-wide.

markers to thread, ‘i miss ufo’ etc

Why didn't I get these alien metals, I am annoyed.

aliens are only us from the future

Vaporize a microgram of this alloy in a mass spec, and one could immediately tell if the alloy's elements deviated significantly from terrestrial isotopic ratios.

I dont see why its beyond possibility that there are other universal building blocks we dont know about or cant get our heads round.

For the first time, unknown microbes have been identified on @Space_Station, without needing to be sent back to Earth for sequencing. Watch how scientists overcame #HurricaneHarvey to complete this experiment, and what it means for space exploration. https://t.co/uK8uZVfe0Z pic.twitter.com/4cNeOj0HRQ

— ISS Research (@ISS_Research) December 19, 2017

aliens are only us from the future

pretty sure the 7th Indiana Jones film will open in the alien alloy warehouse

Vaporize a microgram of this alloy in a mass spec, and one could immediately tell if the alloy's elements deviated significantly from terrestrial isotopic ratios.

🐦[For the first time, unknown microbes have been identified on @Space_Station🕸, without needing to be sent back to Earth for sequencing. Watch how scientists overcame #HurricaneHarvey🕸 to complete this experiment, and what it means for space exploration. https://t.co/uK8uZVfe0Z🕸 pic.twitter.com/4cNeOj0HRQ🕸
— ISS Research (@ISS_Research) December 19, 2017🕸]🐦

a cassandra of movies, no one believed would happen

feel like this is the best thread to post this too https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/19/health/lethal-viruses-nih.html

i for one welcome the genetically-engineered virus which will wipe out the poors and make it easier for our alien overlords to terraform earth

its more and more clear to me that aliens are not some sort of all powerful benevolent beings that will save humans, they are rather strugatsky's roadside picnic aliens, bored teens joyriding across the universe and who come to earth every once in a while for a weekend gag

https://frinkiac.com/img/S07E06/398447.jpg

"Take me to your dealer" xpost

U.S. Navy confirms Tom DeLonge of Blink-182 was right about UFOs https://t.co/rcbvY3Aspo

— Salon (@Salon) September 18, 2019

After the last few years, I love how the Pentagon-confirmed unidentified flying triangle gets kind of a "what else is new?" shrug.

My biggest disappointment is that this is apparently being handled by the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force, and *not* Space Force. Come on, Space Force, this was your chance to shine!

BREAKING: An object flying in U.S. airspace over the Alaska coast was downed by the military, the White House says. Officials said it posed a “reasonable threat” to civilian flights. https://t.co/EmuMjyhJab

— The Associated Press (@AP) February 10, 2023

FWIW, I believe the reasonable threat is posed was the same as that posed by birds, but still.

The U.S. military shot down a “high-altitude object” above Alaskan airspace that was much smaller than the Chinese spy balloon that crossed the country before being shot down last weekend, officials said.

President Biden ordered the military to take down the object on the recommendation of the Pentagon, primarily over concerns that its 40,000-foot altitude could pose “a reasonable threat to the safety of civilian flight,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters Friday at the White House.

Kirby said the United States did not know who owned the object or what its purpose was. It did not appear to have the ability to move around the way the confirmed Chinese balloon did, he said.

The object was the size of a small car, much smaller than the surveillance balloon, which was the size of two or three buses, Kirby noted. The military plans to recover the debris, which may be easier because it landed on ice, he said.

Poor kid never had a chance

https://images.ctfassets.net/43cg184ejz07/2uxbIVp34yhJL18tHi0yjH/9d43cd698a421f7da853aea4fe39ea9a/Le-Ballon-Rouge-d-Albert-Lamorisse.jpg

So today we shot down a UFO and then a secret Russian satellite “just exploded”? We’re not going to live to see tomorrow, guys. https://t.co/2h3odIwib8

— Michael Ian Black (@michaelianblack) February 11, 2023

OK, this is getting silly:

Breaking News: A U.S. jet shot down an unidentified flying object over Canada, acting on the orders of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Canadian and American officials said. https://t.co/o2Q2gHZvrs

— The New York Times (@nytimes) February 11, 2023

well, uhm, okay?

I am aware of the object in Montana air space and remain in close contact with senior DOD and Administration officials. I am closely monitoring the situation and am receiving regular updates. I will continue to demand answers for the American public.

— Senator Jon Tester (@SenatorTester) February 12, 2023

https://josmarlopes.files.wordpress.com/2017/01/keep-watching-the-skies.jpg

Wait, there was *another* one?

US military shoots down another flying object over Lake Huron near Canada, in fourth such incident this month https://t.co/icbvFXONYZ

— BBC Breaking News (@BBCBreaking) February 12, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdmOH8bDBF4

what i don’t understand is why they’re sending fighter jets to shoot down some slow moving bullshit like a balloon. surely this would be better handled by airwolf

what about Balloon Boy?? is he in danger

https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:640/format:webp/1*gwKTAHQqa_PAgQnw9tzJcQ.jpeg

Dogs having fun with a balloon.. 🎈 pic.twitter.com/2qQAulSCvV

— Buitengebieden (@buitengebieden) February 13, 2023

Each one since the original balloon being a different distinct shape is a weird detail (of the few available).

maybe they came in a fun pak of 12 different shapes, including animals

https://www.thesprucecrafts.com/thmb/Y672BWFJB950qUCg8w9aiNT_OQk=/1500x0/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/GettyImages-90339990-586b54d73df78ce2c33d2deb.jpg

xxp just like neon genesis evangelion!

"octagon with strings" or whatever had me thinking of the angels

https://www.syfy.com/sites/syfy/files/styles/blog-post-embedded--tablet-1_5x/public/2022/08/jja_0133_comp.1055.jpg

#BREAKING US says no indication that three downed aerial objects were Chinese or spying pic.twitter.com/M7GA0O5epr

— AFP News Agency (@AFP) February 14, 2023

https://cdn.bargainballoons.com/products/Betallic-Balloons/Everyday-2015-Balloons/Large-Balloons/35022-29-inches-Foil-Shape-Party-Alien-balloons.jpg

Late to this but I very much hope the appropriate people are thinking of

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UFO_(band)

NORAD followed Holtzman shield rules

the messaging around this is bizarre, it doesn't seem like there is even an angle they're trying to propagate. basically think it's various entities trying to do some ass-covering and tripping over each other

Authorities in China are preparing to shoot down an unidentified flying object currently over Shandong Province, according to Chinese state media. And while it’s not immediately clear who the flying object might belong to, every country is now looking to the skies with more skepticism, ever since the U.S. military shot down a Chinese spy balloon a little over a week ago.

Lol. Suuuuure, China.

The three shot down after the Chinese one are likely hobbyists' balloons.

https://aviationweek.com/defense-space/aircraft-propulsion/hobby-clubs-missing-balloon-feared-shot-down-usaf

What, can aliens not have hobbies?

The amount of people, if you can call them that, who are desperate for a conspiracy or aliens is, as they say, too damn high.

A nearby ham radio club has been making these for over a year. Here's how:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfDDezwZ8QM

https://spyballoonsim.hornetsnestguild.com/