Out of this world transparency

In a move to become more transparent and address accusations that authorites are ”covering up the truth”, the French space agency CNES has put its archive of UFO sightings online.

“In this manner we want to prove that our work is transparent,” Jacques Patenet, the expert on UFOs at CNES, said on Thursday in Paris.

In the past 30 years there have been 1,600 sightings of Unidentified Flying Objects in France, according to tech news service heise.de. The CNES is a state organization that also observes “extraterrestrial phenomena.” They are working on adding photos and videos related to the sightings.

(via heise.de)

Seven years in Canada

Today is my seventh anniversary of immigrating to Canada. It’s a good day to say thank you to the unknown customs officer at Pearson Airport. I wish I had asked for his name.

On March 21, 2000, I anxiously stood in the customs lineup with a suitcase, a backpack and a list of things to be shipped later.

When the officer saw that I am a new immigrant, he smiled, shook my hand and said “Welcome to Canada! Glad to have you here.”

Some people may dismiss this as a little Wal-Mart greeter type of gesture. It wasn’t. It made a world of difference to me. Since this is supposed to be a PR blog: I don’t think anybody could have done better PR for the country than this customs officer.

Thank you, Officer. And thank you, Canada. I am glad to be here, too.