AP: Russia Slams U.S. Space Weapon Plans

[Eugene]

Russia Slams U.S. Space Weapon Plans

The Associated Press
Thursday, January 25, 2007; 7:11 AM

NEW DELHI -- Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday criticized U.S. plans
for space-based weapons, saying they were the reason behind a recent Chinese
anti-satellite weapons test.

Asked about the Chinese test at a news conference in New Delhi after a meeting
with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Putin avoided directly criticizing
the Chinese, saying only that Russia was against putting any weapons in space.

Instead, Putin chose to issue a warning to the U.S. on the dangers of the
militarization of space.

"At the same time, I would like to note that China was not the first country to
conduct such a test," Putin said.

-snip-

Full article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/25/AR2007012500440.html

[sweetheart]

1. Putin, shoot down the Fox TV satellite

Put your missiles where your mouth is.

[TheLastMohican]

2. Be careful what you wish for

Russia has the capability to shoot down all satelite constellations in space.

[sweetheart]

4. I'm ok with that

I expect that the advantages of global communications by fibreoptic are
now such that a satellite network would be no loss for regular people
whatsoever. I can get by without a GPS, have done so for a lifetime,
and i don't mind eating strawberries only when they are in season (not
needing a global shipping network on GPS/petrol to get me them in january)

Really, from a regular person's POV, the satellites are an elite luxury
for super rich nations intent on global dominance and war, not at all
necessary for daily life. If russia shoots them down, then america will
shoot down russias and rich people can destroy other rich peoples toys.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

6. Fiber-Optic TV transmission...

Ain't nowhere near that level yet.

[sweetheart]

7. oh what a blessing

Good! :-)

[Theduckno2]

3. Regardless of your opinion of Putin, he is right on this matter.

What really annoys me is that while this planet is staring resource depletion right in the face, we instead choose to expand our war-making into the near vacuum of space.

Put another way: We are taking the last of our earth's precious resources and sending them into space.

[Vidar]

5. Putin is right

[Ghost Dog]

8. Satellite monitoring of the environmental state of the earth

is an irreplaceable tool.

And,I believe, there is still in existance an International Treaty against the militarization of outer space. See eg. here:

United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs: http://www.unoosa.org/oosa/SpaceLaw/outerspt.html

<snip>

The Outer Space Treaty was considered by the Legal Subcommittee in 1966 and agreement was reached in the General Assembly in the same year (resolution 2222 (XXI). The Treaty was largely based on the Declaration of Legal Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, which had been adopted by the General Assembly in its resolution 1962 (XVIII) in 1963, but added a few new provisions. The Treaty was opened for signature by the three depository Governments (the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States of America) in January 1967, and it entered into force in October 1967. The Outer Space Treaty provides the basic framework on international space law, including the following principles:

* the exploration and use of outer space shall be carried out for the benefit and in the interests of all countries and shall be the province of all mankind;
* outer space shall be free for exploration and use by all States;
* outer space is not subject to national appropriation by claim of sovereignty, by means of use or occupation, or by any other means;
* States shall not place nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction in orbit or on celestial bodies or station them in outer space in any other manner;
* the Moon and other celestial bodies shall be used exclusively for peaceful purposes;
* astronauts shall be regarded as the envoys of mankind;
* States shall be responsible for national space activities whether carried out by governmental or non-governmental activities;
* States shall be liable for damage caused by their space objects; and
* States shall avoid harmful contamination of space and celestial bodies.

98 States have ratified, and an additional 27 have signed the Outer Space Treaty (as of 1 January 2006).For further information, see the Treaty Status Index.

/...

...and here: (full text of Treaty) http://www.unoosa.org/oosa/SpaceLaw/outerspt.html

[donkeyotay]

9. It's mindboggling what a disaster bush is. Here's another one of his f'ups

I doubt whether human society or the planet's ecology can survive bush's incredibly greedy and short-sighted policies. He's a disaster. If his warmongering doesn't kill us, the environmental side effects will.