Russia Bans US Use of Its Rocket Engines For Military Launches 522
schwit1 sends word that Russia will now ban U.S. military satellite launches using Russian-made rockets. According to Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, this is retaliation for U.S. sanctions on high-tech items, put in place because of the dispute in the Ukraine. Rogozin also threatened to block U.S. plans to keep using the International Space Station beyond its 2020 mission end date. That's not all: 'Rogozin also said Russia will suspend the operation of GPS satellite navigation system sites in Russia from June and seek talks with Washington on opening similar sites in the United States for Russia's own system, Glonass. He threatened the permanent closure of the GPS sites in Russia if that is not agreed by September.'
Re:Space programs as a crowbar? (Score:5, Interesting)
http://www.spacenews.com/artic... [spacenews.com]
Seems NASA started this over the month ago.
If there is anything to know about Russians, is they do not like getting bullied. And before you say "OMG, Russian are bulling Ukraine!", this is not the first time east Ukraine and majority were told to take a hike by the so-called "westerners".
Quick note: East Ukraine was Russia. West Ukraine was Poland. Borders were redrawn and now you have populations with different leanings. Imagine that!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H... [wikipedia.org]
Re:Space programs as a crowbar? (Score:3, Interesting)
And then market economic reality kicked in, and it's nuclear WW3 for resources again.
Market economics are the alternative to fighting for resources. Instead of grabbing what you want by force, you just buy it. The market based world order of the Pax Americana is far more peaceful than the age of imperialism and mercantilism that preceded it.
Re:suspend GPS? (Score:5, Interesting)
Russia has its own system called Glonass. Most modern navigation devices support it because all the GPS modules implemented it when Russia decided to impose massive import duty on GPS only devices. They probably wouldn't be hurt by GPS because Glonass is adequate for civilian use and the military would never trust GPS to begin with.
It won't just affect Russia either, it will affect nearby countries. If the GPS system can't be maintained with new satellites it will eventually degrade and fail, but presumably the US has a backup plan to keep it going with different launch vehicles. I imagine there will be some considerable cost involved though.
Re:Space programs as a crowbar? (Score:3, Interesting)
You do realize the space program(s) started out as competitors, right? The whole thing started as a result of this little "international quarrel" called the Cold War.
Re:Well, that sucks. (Score:0, Interesting)
Whoo-hoo! Fuck You, Oh, wait, congratulate to you! You've proved that you are the most fucking stupid idiot in the world!
This's a "so-called-report" from NYT, which "proofs" actually photoshoped from un-authorized photo, taken by journalism photographer Maxim Dondyuk from Ukraine.
The original photo was BLURRED, SCALED down.
If you can read, read yourself:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/04/25/1294569/-NY-Times-photos-prove-masked-men-work-for-Putin-made-those-anti-semitic-fliers-Uh-no
Why the photo must to be BLURRED, World Socialist have some photos to explain:
http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2014/04/24/nytu-a24.html
False-flag NYT article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/21/world/europe/photos-link-masked-men-in-east-ukraine-to-russia.html
'Retracted' article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/23/world/europe/scrutiny-over-photos-said-to-tie-russia-units-to-ukraine.html?ref=world&_r=0
Best description about yourself you've stated above:
Unless they actually believe the crap they see on state sponsored TV
Re:Duck and cover (Score:5, Interesting)
A large part of this is that people's instinct when they see the flash is to go to the window to see what it was. The flash and the shockwave can arrive anywhere from seconds to minutes apart, and people all gather round the windows to see what's going on.
Re:Space programs as a crowbar? (Score:4, Interesting)
Honest government. Yes. Everyone wants that. Too bad that *both* the "west backed" and the "east backed" governments did the same thing - rob national coffers for their own gains. Both are completely incompetent.
This can't be said enough. Both sides are the same. Each wants to influence the government using processes other than democracy. Their methods wouldn't matter even if you could distinguish one from another, and you only just barely can.
Two sides of the same coin. Heads Ukraine loses, tails Ukraine loses.
Anyone who sees the anti-Russian side as some kind of benefactor is either stupid or drinking the Kool Aid.
Re:Duck and cover (Score:5, Interesting)
I grew up in the middle of Silicon Valley - a major techno-industrial center wedged between a fairly major military base and two major population centers. As part of my Boy Scouts Disaster Preparedness merit badge, we had to explain our plan in case of a nuclear war being declared. I told them "kick back on the roof in a lounge chair and watch the mushroom clouds go up."
There was a brief pause, and the instructor said "Fair enough."
Re:Duck and cover (Score:3, Interesting)
That's one way to look at it. Personally, when the grim reaper comes for me, he'll have a fight on his hands. My family has a plan, and there are emergency supplies including medical, and food and water for three days in each vehicle, we have a direction, (away from city center) and a meeting place already arranged. In the case of an EMP we likely won't have transportation, but you can't plan for everything. I admit the plan works best in the case of a dirty nuclear device detonated in the heaviest populated area, and coincidentally that seems to be the most likely scenario these days.
It may all be for naught, but maybe it'll be the difference between surviving a near miss, or not.
Re:Duck and cover (Score:5, Interesting)
Of course, in any realistic WW3 scenario all that this would accomplish in the end is a slightly larger food riot once the food runs out.
Now in this day and age with slimmed down just in time delivery, the food would run out in less than 72 hours in all major metropolitan areas. The food you see on the shelves in your local food store is pretty much what's in store, plus whatever is in any trucks that manage to make it to the store.
Come to think of it, I bet it would take less than a hundred nukes aimed at a carefully selected list of choke points in the transport infrastructure to doom everyone in North America to starvation. The same thing goes for Europe and (to some extent) Russia. Even a very limited nuclear war could probably be incredibly lethal if both sides were aiming to kill/incapacitate the other side's population.
Re:Where will this end? (Score:2, Interesting)
The Russian public has bought into Putin's nationalist rhetoric.
And you think they are the only ones being manipulated?
Back at a certain time during the Cold War, the government was afraid that the maniac in charge of the other side would launch WW3 for no reason but being an idiot and wanting to appear all macho in internal politics. The government of the USSR. The madman in question was called Reagan.
Both sides here are telling their story, from their perspective. In the west it may be easier to find dissenting media, but to be honest, the mainstream media is largely telling the same story and does precious little investigation or fact-checking.
If you want to get a different perspective, it is really easy: Hop on Skype and talk to a few russians. Don't trust the media.