Slashdot Mirror
American Space Age Reaches Fifty Years
Bryansix brings us a story about the 50th anniversary of the United States' entry into the Space Age. On January 31st, 1958, Explorer 1 became the first U.S. satellite to reach orbit. The New York Times is running a similar feature.
"Explorer 1 gave America a chance to recover some of its confidence and prestige after the Sputnik shock, but there was a scientific payoff as well: The data returned by the satellite showed that Earth was not surrounded by a swarm of killer pebbles, as some scientists had feared. However, the cosmic-ray readings hinted at the existence of bands of radiation surrounding the planet - an unexpected result that led to the discovery of the Van Allen Belts."
I agree with what (I think is) your sentiment completely. In fact, I find it exceptionally lame that, in the year 2008 on Planet Earth, a discussion topic on an internationally-used forum would be something like this. Aren't there enough jingoistic, nationalistic dumbass morons running around with US flags flapping from their SUVs and pickup trucks? Do we really need more of this crap here on Slashdot? I'm not sure what the association between US flags and car dealerships is, but if I see another row of them flapping above a row of brand-new, gas-guzzling, ecosystem-destroying, SUVs I'm going to puke.
I have suspected for a long time that the US Army's PSYOPS or some other covert domestic propaganda programs are actively influencing discussions on places like Slashdot. This certainly seems to confirm it.