tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post5519162423510689840..comments2024-03-28T21:41:52.558-04:00Comments on The Elephant Bar: US Shoot Down of Satellite Is a Warning to IranDeuce ☂http://www.blogger.com/profile/13472858446242700869noreply@blogger.comBlogger55125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-82056153559023599882008-02-23T17:54:00.000-05:002008-02-23T17:54:00.000-05:00Now I'm going to lift.Now I'm going to lift.Jackhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10089498195545182330noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-13668698654013007722008-02-23T17:52:00.001-05:002008-02-23T17:52:00.001-05:00(backed by more than just the force of their natur...(backed by more than just the force of their natural attractiveness)Jackhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10089498195545182330noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-84874614037229276892008-02-23T17:52:00.000-05:002008-02-23T17:52:00.000-05:00"I think I am, but just aware I'm surrounded by ma...<I>"I think I am, but just aware I'm surrounded by many people who aren't."</I><BR/><BR/>If I could rewrite this, I'd add:<BR/><BR/>"and competing ideas."Jackhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10089498195545182330noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-75339661798812484522008-02-23T17:38:00.000-05:002008-02-23T17:38:00.000-05:00Among other things, I think presentism is cripplin...Among other things, I think presentism is crippling, and somewhat natural. That one of the reasons I think the study of history is important, it teaches humility.Jackhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10089498195545182330noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-22813651871074060862008-02-23T17:34:00.000-05:002008-02-23T17:34:00.000-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Jackhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10089498195545182330noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-3112293671305913342008-02-23T17:26:00.000-05:002008-02-23T17:26:00.000-05:00"How 'bout a short nap, then?"Possible, I think. P..."How 'bout a short nap, then?"<BR/><BR/>Possible, I think. Pleasant, so long as your ideas are the ones that come out on top. <BR/><BR/>I don't think we're heading there right now, though. But I also think history's incredibly unpredictable, especially in the moment, so who knows.<BR/><BR/>---<BR/><BR/>Currently writing midterms. One's fun though.Jackhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10089498195545182330noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-45390927962601003352008-02-23T10:21:00.000-05:002008-02-23T10:21:00.000-05:00To blame the Chinese for additional "space debris"...To blame the Chinese for additional "space debris" is a bit of a strech, though accurate. Their 1,600 pieces, from their shot increased "space debris" by about 20%. The Chinese adding to the debris field at 500 miles in orbit <I>The Chinese military used a ground-based missile to hit and destroy one of its aging satellites orbiting more than 500 miles in space </I> (WaPO)<BR/><BR/>Then on the general issue of "space debris" in orbit.<BR/><BR/><I>By Randolph E. Schmid<BR/>AP Science Writer<BR/>posted: 20 January 2006<BR/>10:26 a.m. ET<BR/> <BR/><BR/>WASHINGTON (AP) - More than 9,000 pieces of space debris are orbiting the Earth, a hazard that can only be expected to get worse in the next few years. And currently there's no workable and economic way to clean up the mess. <BR/><BR/>Space junk measuring 4 inches or more total some 5,500 tons, according to a report by NASA scientists J.-C. Liou and N. L. Johnson in Friday's issue of the journal Science. <BR/><BR/>Even if space launches were halted now - which will not happen - the collection of debris would continue growing as items already in orbit collide and break into more pieces, Liou said in a telephone interview. <BR/><BR/>"On the other hand, we are not claiming the sky is falling,'' he said, "We just need to understand what the risks are.'' <BR/><BR/>The most debris-crowded area is between 550 miles and 625 miles above the Earth, Liou said, meaning the risk is less for manned spaceflight. The International Space Station operates at about 250 miles altitude, and Space Shuttle flights tend to range between 250 miles and 375 miles, he said. <BR/><BR/>But the junk can pose a risk to commercial and research flights and other space activities. <BR/><BR/>Much of the debris results from explosions of satellites, especially old upper stages left in orbit with leftover fuel and high pressure fluids. <BR/><BR/><B>A 2004 NASA report identified Russia as the source of the largest number of debris items, closely followed by the United States. Other sources were France, China, India, Japan and the European Space Agency. </B><BR/></I>desert rathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02369546288659566961noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-86767327803431409542008-02-23T09:23:00.000-05:002008-02-23T09:23:00.000-05:00Turning Point for Missile DefenseBy Rich LowrySome...Turning Point for Missile Defense<BR/>By Rich Lowry<BR/><BR/>Somewhere 130 miles above the Pacific Ocean, tumbling around the Earth at 17,000 mph, a disabled spy satellite met a fiery end late Wednesday night -- destroyed by a U.S. missile-defense interceptor.<BR/><BR/>The spectacular hit marks a definitive turn in the debate concerning missile defense, from whether it's technically possible to whether it's ethically desirable. Many of the same people who had argued for years that missile defense couldn't be done now will complain that it constitutes a nefarious "weaponizing of space."<BR/><BR/><BR/>The U.S. normally isn't in the business of shooting down satellites. It took out the dead National Reconnaissance Office satellite because it had a full, 1,000-pound tank of toxic rocket fuel that there was some slim chance could fall on a populated area when it re-entered the atmosphere in a few weeks. Now, the hydrazine fuel appears to have burned up in an explosion in space, and small pieces of the 5,000-pound satellite -- about the size of a school bus -- will fall harmlessly to Earth.<BR/><BR/>The satellite wasn't a missile launched with just minutes warning, but hitting it is still a major success for our missile-defense system. The window for a successful strike was about 30 seconds, the speeds involved were mind-boggling, and all the same technologies that would be deployed against a missile -- a Standard Missile 3 rocket launched from an Aegis-class cruiser and a battery of radar and sensors -- were in play.<BR/><BR/>The Chinese immediately lashed out. A Foreign Ministry spokesman said that they will continue to monitor "the possible harm caused by the U.S. action to outer space security and relevant countries." The Chinese commitment to "outer space security" was recently exemplified by their shooting down an aging weather satellite with no warning, then denying that they had done it for two weeks, and doing it at an orbit so high that 1,600 pieces of space debris will clutter Earth's orbit for years.<BR/><BR/>The Chinese test -- of a system that is explicitly designed to target satellites -- didn't produce much outrage from arms controllers. It's long been an axiom of arms control that whatever the U.S. does is dangerous and a provocation to other countries, while our adversaries are merely forced into hostile or irresponsible acts by our recklessness. But the U.S. position on space -- like our position on the high seas -- is that everyone should have full and free access to it for peaceful purposes.<BR/><BR/>What we have resisted is getting pushed into an unenforceable treaty against weapons in space that could hamper our ability to address threats in the future. So many weapons can be transformed instantly into "space weapons" if they are used against targets above the Earth's atmosphere -- as we've seen with the SM-3 missile -- that banning them is impossible. The real agenda of the Russians and the Chinese is to keep us from ever putting missile-defense interceptors in space. That would enhance our capability against their intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) arsenals.<BR/><BR/>This is how deep the Chinese and Russian commitment to the peacefulness of space runs: They want to have the option of launching ICBMs out into space where they will travel undisturbed until they reenter Earth's atmosphere on their way to visiting untold devastation on a target. The Chinese could make a genuine gesture toward peace in space by ending their rapid buildup of ICBMs, but their true interest is in preventing us from checking their missile threat to us and our allies.<BR/><BR/>Space has been weaponized at least since the Germans launched V-2 rockets against Britain. Today, we use satellites not just for commercial purposes, but for intelligence and military command and control. That's the reason the Chinese are so keen to be able to shoot them down. Space isn't a pristine last frontier unsullied by human competitiveness and ferocity, but an extension of our flawed world down here below. It can be dangerous, which is why it's a comfort that we are building defenses against threats more serious than a tank of hydrazine.Deuce ☂https://www.blogger.com/profile/13472858446242700869noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-8312088416036282712008-02-23T09:06:00.000-05:002008-02-23T09:06:00.000-05:00Just call 'em like I see 'em, doug.Been watching s...Just call 'em like I see 'em, doug.<BR/><BR/>Been watching some cable tv, lately<BR/><BR/>Before the Messiah, comes the anti-Christ.<BR/><BR/>Or so the story goes.<BR/><BR/>What was the message to Iran, or the world, when the Chinese shot down a satellite?desert rathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02369546288659566961noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-38359340823234407272008-02-23T09:05:00.000-05:002008-02-23T09:05:00.000-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.desert rathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02369546288659566961noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-36937446522329159422008-02-23T07:37:00.000-05:002008-02-23T07:37:00.000-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Doughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16770268554450465514noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-28854988940943898492008-02-23T07:35:00.000-05:002008-02-23T07:35:00.000-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Doughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16770268554450465514noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-75712086870499219082008-02-23T07:32:00.000-05:002008-02-23T07:32:00.000-05:00The country is damned/doomed to become turd World...The country is damned/doomed to become turd World, mostly thanks to GWB.<BR/>Trish, in her Paulsian Denial State, can't see it.<BR/>Writing on the wall?<BR/>Wasupwiththat?Doughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16770268554450465514noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-5332601089790852022008-02-23T07:28:00.000-05:002008-02-23T07:28:00.000-05:00"Desert Rat made an inciteful comment about a year..."<I>Desert Rat made an inciteful comment about a year ago when he noted that many third world nations used authoritarian socialism to buttress already existing social divisions. So I'm still a bit up in the air on this.<BR/></I>"<BR/>---<BR/>That's Rat:<BR/>Always there to Incite.<BR/>Insight, be Damned!Doughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16770268554450465514noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-22867701713211707422008-02-23T06:32:00.000-05:002008-02-23T06:32:00.000-05:00I don't believe in an end to history.Sat Feb 23, 0...I don't believe in an end to history.<BR/><BR/>Sat Feb 23, 05:39:00 AM EST<BR/><BR/>How 'bout a short nap, then? <BR/><BR/><BR/><BR/><BR/><BR/>Have a nice day, cutler. It's not raining here today. I know I will.trishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14139410627244875589noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-6626200034779327302008-02-23T05:39:00.001-05:002008-02-23T05:39:00.001-05:00Oh yeah, nite.Oh yeah, nite.Jackhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10089498195545182330noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-47257126939184761662008-02-23T05:39:00.000-05:002008-02-23T05:39:00.000-05:00Full Huntington quote (I don't have the book at th...Full Huntington quote (I don't have the book at this apartment, so an internet check is the best I can do):<BR/><BR/><I>"The West won the world not by the superiority of its ideas or values or religion <B>(to which few members of other civilizations were converted)</B> but rather by its superiority in applying organized violence. Westerners often forget this fact; non-Westerners never do."</I><BR/><BR/>Hrmmm, so I'm actually arguing a slightly different pov than Huntington. I do think that many Western (not necessarily liberal-democratic) ideas have taken in other parts of the world, though not at liberal-democratic. <BR/><BR/>Though it is hard to tell to what extent Western influences merely reinforced what was already there. Desert Rat made an inciteful comment about a year ago when he noted that many third world nations used authoritarian socialism to buttress already existing social divisions. So I'm still a bit up in the air on this.<BR/><BR/>Like Huntington, however, I'm not convinced that the rest of the world has been sold on the desirability of liberal-democracy, if that's what you consider "Western ideas." Of course, I worry about us as well in that respect. Nations and ideas rise and fall. I don't believe in an end to history.Jackhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10089498195545182330noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-62876496376343929192008-02-23T05:04:00.000-05:002008-02-23T05:04:00.000-05:00""Hey, they've got shit, I want nice shit too."Thi...<I>""Hey, they've got shit, I want nice shit too."<BR/><BR/>This is somehow shallow.<BR/><BR/>BUT we gladly (or glumly) reinforce and spread this with military strength we could not survive without.<BR/><BR/>I thought I understood it."</I><BR/><BR/>Political freedom is about more than getting great HDTVs. You think that's controversial? <BR/><BR/>I didn't give any policy recommendations with regard to "spreading," I just described the mechanisms that historically spread of "Western/European" political ideas, as I saw it.<BR/> <BR/>In that respect, Huntington wasn't talking about libertarianism and neither was I. The West spread socialism and nationalism to the third world just as successfully as it spread capitalism. <BR/><BR/>Libertarians haven't "won" the world.Jackhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10089498195545182330noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-76642967298477600662008-02-23T04:52:00.000-05:002008-02-23T04:52:00.000-05:00It's almost 5 AM, cutler.Nite.It's almost 5 AM, cutler.<BR/><BR/>Nite.trishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14139410627244875589noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-16477677523099223762008-02-23T04:45:00.000-05:002008-02-23T04:45:00.000-05:00"Hey, they've got shit, I want nice shit too."This..."Hey, they've got shit, I want nice shit too."<BR/><BR/>This is somehow shallow. <BR/><BR/>BUT we gladly (or glumly) reinforce and spread this with military strength we could not survive without.<BR/><BR/>I thought I understood it.trishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14139410627244875589noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-39720452338710370172008-02-23T04:34:00.000-05:002008-02-23T04:34:00.000-05:00Don't know what that means.Looked a like a hell of...Don't know what that means.<BR/><BR/>Looked a like a hell of a non-sequitor though.Jackhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10089498195545182330noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-51287379252921258772008-02-23T04:30:00.000-05:002008-02-23T04:30:00.000-05:00Well nothing I like more than a libertarian spread...Well nothing I like more than a libertarian spreading the word by force of arms. Because "having shit" that wasn't there to be had before isn't deep enough.trishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14139410627244875589noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-61389353249024633252008-02-23T04:23:00.000-05:002008-02-23T04:23:00.000-05:00I think I am, but just aware I'm surrounded by man...I think I am, but just aware I'm surrounded by many people who aren't.<BR/><BR/>I.e., I'm a libertarian, but the world often isn't.Jackhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10089498195545182330noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-17626411641294855782008-02-23T04:20:00.000-05:002008-02-23T04:20:00.000-05:00You're not an idea man, cutler. At heart.S'okay.You're not an idea man, cutler. At heart.<BR/><BR/>S'okay.trishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14139410627244875589noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-51017341431272357162008-02-23T04:11:00.001-05:002008-02-23T04:11:00.001-05:00I.e., "Hey, they've got nice shit, I want nice shi...I.e., "Hey, they've got <B>nice</B> shit, I want nice shit too.Jackhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10089498195545182330noreply@blogger.com