FILE - This March 27, 2008 file photo shows the Pentagon in Washington. A Senate committee abruptly canceled a confirmation hearing Thursday on retired Army Brig. Gen. Anthony Tata's nomination to a top Pentagon post after a furor over offensive remarks he made about Islam and other inflammatory comments. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)
FILE - This March 27, 2008 file photo shows the Pentagon in Washington. A Senate committee abruptly canceled a confirmation hearing Thursday on retired Army Brig. Gen. Anthony Tata's nomination to a top Pentagon post after a furor over offensive remarks he made about Islam and other inflammatory comments. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)
FILE - This March 27, 2008 file photo shows the Pentagon in Washington. A Senate committee abruptly canceled a confirmation hearing Thursday on retired Army Brig. Gen. Anthony Tata's nomination to a t
On July 23, The New York Times ran a story, citing a defence contractor, who said that the US Department of Defence may be in possession of "off-world vehicles not made on this earth".
The quote is the capstone of three years of investigative reporting by the Times, which began with articles in 2017, including a front-page story revealing that the Pentagon was still operating a UFO research programme assumed to have been shut down years earlier. The 2017 articles also included leaked videos captured by the US Navy between 2004 and 2015, showing its pilots tracking strange, unidentified aircraft that seemed to defy our current understanding of aeronautics in our atmosphere.
The US Department of Defence, known as the Pentagon, has operated a partially classified research programme into UFOs for many years. AFP
Chad Underwood, the fighter pilot who captured one of the videos, has said that the object he was tracking "wasn't behaving within the normal laws of physics". His commanding officer at the time, David Fravor, has also made similar statements about a different object he encountered on the same day.
For three years, a whole host of scientists and casual sceptics have rounded on the videos, Mr Underwood, Mr Fravor and the New York Times reporters in an effort to pick it all apart. And there are valid reasons for scepticism. It is possible that there are explanations other than out-of-this-world technology for what US Navy pilots have seen. And yet, the story remains extraordinary because, after three years of it being out in the world, the Pentagon seemingly remains unconvinced by the explanations sceptics have proffered.
This April, the Department of Defence formally acknowledged the videos to be real, and stated that the "aerial phenomena observed [within them] remain characterised as 'unidentified'".
And that brings us back to July 23. The story that discusses “off-world vehicles” also quotes former and serving US lawmakers, who are reluctant to make any claims at all about aliens. But they refer to reports of similarly mysterious aircraft that have appeared over US military bases with technology potentially “not in the American arsenal”.
Marco Rubio, the Republican who currently chairs the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, is more concerned that it is evidence of “some technological leap” made by one of the US’s terrestrial rivals. “Maybe there is a completely, sort of, boring explanation for it. But we need to find out,” Mr Rubio said.
Unless the US defence department has been duped into creating a multi-year, multi-million-dollar, partially classified research project around an innocuous prank or natural phenomenon, the little commentary that has come out from lawmakers and military officials points to two possibilities. Both of them would present mysteries that merit huge attention and investment.
US Senator Marco Rubio is one of several lawmakers concerned about unidentified flying objects reported in US territory. AFP
The Pentagon seemingly remains unconvinced by the explanations UFO sceptics have proffered over the last three years
The first is that some country other than the US has developed materials and technological capabilities, possibly as far back as 2004, that baffle the US defence community in 2020, and make US Navy pilots question their understanding of aerodynamics. This would be particularly extraordinary given the interconnectedness of the global scientific and defence research community, and that the US spends far more than every other country on defence.
The second possibility is that there are advanced aliens.
Amazingly, that suddenly doesn’t seem so unreasonable. Shocking, but not beyond all reason. So why isn’t the whole world talking about aliens right now?
The classic explanation is that, for all of the scientists, policymakers and defence strategists who would lead the discussion, it's just too embarrassing. As Christopher Mellon, a former US deputy assistant secretary of defence, has put it, "No one wants to be the 'alien guy' in the national security bureaucracy; nobody wants to be ridiculed or sidelined for drawing attention to the issue".
Few journalists, it seems, want to be “the alien guy” either, considering the relative absence of aliens from the global news cycle over the last fortnight. There are very interesting questions to be asked about the role of shame and social standing in everything from journalism to scientific achievement to national security.
Another explanation is the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Many stories, from the desert locust plague that has ravaged dozens of nations’ food supplies to deadly violence between soldiers from two nuclear powers, have fallen by the wayside in a coronavirus-stricken world.
There is a certain worldwide humbling occurring. The Covid-19 pandemic has revealed many of our civilisation's socioeconomic cracks, and we just don’t have the headspace to think beyond the surface of the Earth. Medical science is in a fight that there is no guarantee of winning very soon. Economic inequality and poverty are going up as food security and growth go down.
It is a sign of just how many issues are occupying the collective mind of the human race that our curiosity is only minimally piqued by what has been trickling out of the Pentagon. Even as we continue to shuttle astronauts to low-earth orbit and plan missions to Mars, the gravity of our planet weighs particularly heavily on us just now.
For over four decades since the "golden record" launched with Nasa's Voyager spacecraft in 1977, there have been co-ordinated, international efforts to broadcast messages to deep space in the faint hope that there is someone out there, waiting in vigil and listening.
How tragic it would be if evidence of alien life mounted, and it was we who were neither vigilant nor listening.
Sulaiman Hakemy is deputy comment editor at The National
Wed Aug 29 – Malaysia v Hong Kong, Nepal v Oman, UAE v Singapore
Thu Aug 30 - UAE v Nepal, Hong Kong v Singapore, Malaysia v Oman
Sat Sep 1 - UAE v Hong Kong, Oman v Singapore, Malaysia v Nepal
Sun Sep 2 – Hong Kong v Oman, Malaysia v UAE, Nepal v Singapore
Tue Sep 4 - Malaysia v Singapore, UAE v Oman, Nepal v Hong Kong
Thu Sep 6 – Final
AVOID SCAMMERS: TIPS FROM EMIRATES NBD
1. Never respond to e-mails, calls or messages asking for account, card or internet banking details
2. Never store a card PIN (personal identification number) in your mobile or in your wallet
3. Ensure online shopping websites are secure and verified before providing card details
4. Change passwords periodically as a precautionary measure
5. Never share authentication data such as passwords, card PINs and OTPs (one-time passwords) with third parties
6. Track bank notifications regarding transaction discrepancies
7. Report lost or stolen debit and credit cards immediately
PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES
Saturday (UAE kick-off times)
Watford v Leicester City (3.30pm)
Brighton v Arsenal (6pm)
West Ham v Wolves (8.30pm)
Bournemouth v Crystal Palace (10.45pm)
Sunday
Newcastle United v Sheffield United (5pm)
Aston Villa v Chelsea (7.15pm)
Everton v Liverpool (10pm)
Monday
Manchester City v Burnley (11pm)
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
Indian origin executives leading top technology firms
Sundar Pichai
Chief executive, Google and Alphabet
Satya Nadella
Chief executive, Microsoft
Ajaypal Singh Banga
President and chief executive, Mastercard
Shantanu Narayen
Chief executive, chairman, and president, Adobe
Indra Nooyi
Board of directors, Amazon and former chief executive, PepsiCo
THE BIO
Ms Davison came to Dubai from Kerala after her marriage in 1996 when she was 21-years-old
Since 2001, Ms Davison has worked at many affordable schools such as Our Own English High School in Sharjah, and The Apple International School and Amled School in Dubai
Favourite Book: The Alchemist
Favourite quote: Failing to prepare is preparing to fail
Favourite place to Travel to: Vienna
Favourite cuisine: Italian food
Favourite Movie : Scent of a Woman
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
You can donate to several registered charities through a “donation catalogue”. The use of the donation is quite specific, such as buying a fan for a poor family in Niger for Dh130.
The site has an e-donation service accepting debit card, credit card or e-Dirham, an electronic payment tool developed by the Ministry of Finance and First Abu Dhabi Bank.
You can donate online or order Smiles n’ Stuff products handcrafted by Al Noor students. The centre publishes a wish list of extras needed, starting at Dh500.
Beit Al Khair Society has the motto “From – and to – the UAE,” with donations going towards the neediest in the country. Its website has a list of physical donation sites, but people can also contribute money by SMS, bank transfer and through the hotline 800-22554.
Dar Al Ber Society, which has charity projects in 39 countries, accept cash payments, money transfers or SMS donations. Its donation hotline is 800-79.
Dubai Cares provides several options for individuals and companies to donate, including online, through banks, at retail outlets, via phone and by purchasing Dubai Cares branded merchandise. It is currently running a campaign called Bookings 2030, which allows people to help change the future of six underprivileged children and young people.
Those who travel on Emirates have undoubtedly seen the little donation envelopes in the seat pockets. But the foundation also accepts donations online and in the form of Skywards Miles. Donated miles are used to sponsor travel for doctors, surgeons, engineers and other professionals volunteering on humanitarian missions around the world.
On the Emirates Red Crescent website you can choose between 35 different purposes for your donation, such as providing food for fasters, supporting debtors and contributing to a refugee women fund. It also has a list of bank accounts for each donation type.
Gulf for Good raises funds for partner charity projects through challenges, like climbing Kilimanjaro and cycling through Thailand. This year’s projects are in partnership with Street Child Nepal, Larchfield Kids, the Foundation for African Empowerment and SOS Children's Villages. Since 2001, the organisation has raised more than $3.5 million (Dh12.8m) in support of over 50 children’s charities.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the Noor Dubai Foundation a decade ago with the aim of eliminating all forms of preventable blindness globally. You can donate Dh50 to support mobile eye camps by texting the word “Noor” to 4565 (Etisalat) or 4849 (du).
LAST-16 EUROPA LEAGUE FIXTURES
Wednesday (Kick-offs UAE)
FC Copenhagen (0) v Istanbul Basaksehir (1) 8.55pm
Shakhtar Donetsk (2) v Wolfsburg (1) 8.55pm
Inter Milan v Getafe (one leg only) 11pm
Manchester United (5) v LASK (0) 11pm
Thursday
Bayer Leverkusen (3) v Rangers (1) 8.55pm
Sevilla v Roma (one leg only) 8.55pm
FC Basel (3) v Eintracht Frankfurt (0) 11pm
Wolves (1) Olympiakos (1) 11pm
Tips for used car buyers
Choose cars with GCC specifications
Get a service history for cars less than five years old
Don’t go cheap on the inspection
Check for oil leaks
Do a Google search on the standard problems for your car model
Do your due diligence. Get a transfer of ownership done at an official RTA centre
Check the vehicle’s condition. You don’t want to buy a car that’s a good deal but ends up costing you Dh10,000 in repairs every month
Validate warranty and service contracts with the relevant agency and and make sure they are valid when ownership is transferred
If you are planning to sell the car soon, buy one with a good resale value. The two most popular cars in the UAE are black or white in colour and other colours are harder to sell
Tarek Kabrit, chief executive of Seez, and Imad Hammad, chief executive and co-founder of CarSwitch.com
