Page 86 - April-May 2020 Neat

86 UFO Video A Big Deal for Believers

Pentagon's release of UFO

videos a big deal for

believers in

extraterrestrial life:

former U.K. investigator

CBC Canada

The Pentagon's official release of footage that
appears to show unidentified flying objects sets
the stage for an "adult conversation" about a
once fringe topic, a former British defence
ministry investigator argues.

"This new revelation, I think, takes us to some
very interesting territory and at least lays the
groundwork for serious adult conversation about
this that goes beyond Sci-Fi memes," said Nick
Pope, former head of the British government's The Pentagon offered no information about the objects pictured in the videos, West says they
UFO research project. what's actually seen in the three clips, but some may be kept confidential for national security
believe the pilots' incredulous reactions to what reasons, no matter how benign.
On Monday, the U.S. Department of Defense they're seeing indicates something bizarre.
released three short videos, recorded in 2004 "The Navy probably has a very good idea of
and 2015, depicting what they call "unidentified "The U.S. Navy top guns are not easily what types of things these are — that they're
aerial phenomena." impressed in terms of things like speed and drones or balloons or aircraft or whatever they
manoeuvrability," Pope said. "So when they get are — but they're not going to tell you about it
Those same videos have been available online excited, it tells you there's something a little bit because that's part of a classified investigation,"
since 2017 when To The Stars Academy of Arts unusual about this, to say the least." he said.
& Sciences, a company founded by former
Blink-182 musician Tom DeLonge, posted them But West argues the videos' content can easily be Pope, who has investigated many UFO claims
online. explained. from the public and Air Force pilots during his
career, adds that the government likely has the
In a release, the department says it declassified In one of the videos titled GIMBAL, a small, required intelligence to shed more clarity on
the clips to "clear up any misconceptions" about potato-shaped object is seen. One pilot, what's in the videos.
whether the footage was real and "whether or watching the screen, declares it a drone. Another
not there is more to the videos." counters that there's an entire "fleet" of them. In its release, the Department of Defense said
Neither believes it to be a Navy plane. the objects observed in the video remain
For believers in extraterrestrial life, the "characterized as 'unidentified.'"
Pentagon's acknowledgement is a big deal, Pope Eventually, the object begins to rotate, leading to
says. a surprised reaction from the pilots. Still, West acknowledges that even when offered
alternate explanations, die-hard UFO believers
"After years of what they see as government "But if you analyze what's going on there," West won't give up hope that the videos show proof of
denial, they think that this is a prelude to countered, "it actually seems like it's more likely extraterrestrial life.
disclosure, the moment when the government that it is the heat signature of the jet engine. It
formally acknowledges an extraterrestrial kind of flares up in the infrared [camera]." He sees their interest as benign — unless it veers
presence," he told The Current's Matt Galloway. into anti-government conspiracy that could
"It's like if you shone a flashlight into a camera: prevent them from trusting important
While Pope is far more cautious in his you don't see the flashlight itself, you just see a information, like health guidelines.
assessment of the videos' contents — he is bright glare around it," he added.
"unsure" of what they depict — he says But that curiosity, Pope argues, allows
whatever is shown "doesn't matter in a sense." And the object's rotation? West chalks it up to a humankind to ponder bigger, more philosophical
moving part in the camera's lens. questions.
"The important point is this subject has now
come out of the fringe and into the mainstream." "You've got to realize that what they [the pilots] "What if there are other civilizations out there
are looking at is really the same thing that we're that will have profound implications for almost
But others are far more skeptical that the official looking at. They're just looking at a small screen every aspect of human society: politics, religion,
release of the videos mean anything at all. in their cockpit and they're seeing these things science, economics, philosophy?"
on the screen," West said.
"[The U.S. Navy] essentially acknowledged "Let's have that conversation. It would be
them back in September last year," said Mick West, who is a licensed pilot, says that often interesting and it would be fun." []
West, a science writer and author of Escaping these objects appear as nothing more than white
the Rabbit Hole: How to Debunk Conspiracy dots given their distance from the aircraft.
Theories Using Facts, Logic, and Respect.
"You're seeing things that are too far away to

"These videos have been out for two years and make out any details. So pilots will naturally see
the Navy has never really said that these are not things in the sky that they can't identify," he said.
real videos from Navy planes."
'Let's have that conversation'
Logical explanations
Though there may be logical explanations for