UN Names Official Alien-Spacecraft Greeter

Take me to your leader…or not. If aliens ever land on planet Earth, they will be greeted not by the president of the United States, but by Mazlan Othman, an obscure Malaysian scientist. Othman, head of the UN Office for Outer Space Affairs, will be named the Earth’s official alien-spacecraft greeter at a conference in Britain next week. “The continued search for extraterrestrial communication, by several entities, sustains the hope that someday humankind will receive signals from extraterrestrials,” said Othman in a recording of a recent speech, reported by the Sunday Times of London. “When we do, we should have in place a coordinated response that takes into account all the sensitivities related to the subject. The UN is a ready-made mechanism for such coordination.” At the upcoming nomination conference, Othman is also ready to tell delegates that the discovery of hundreds of new planets will greatly increase the likelihood of extraterrestrial life in the cosmos.