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Photos Stream Back From China's Lunar Lander
After the successful soft landing of its carrier vessel on the surface of the moon, China's Jade Rabbit lunar rover has begun beaming back photos of the lunar surface. From the BBC's article, with links to video as well as several photos, comes this description: "Chang'e-3 is the third unmanned rover mission to touch down on the lunar surface, and the first to go there in more than 40 years. The last was an 840kg (1,900lb) Soviet vehicle known as Lunokhod-2, which was kept warm by polonium-210. But the six-wheeled Chinese vehicle carries a more sophisticated payload, including ground-penetrating radar which will gather measurements of the lunar soil and crust. The 120kg (260lb) Jade Rabbit rover can reportedly climb slopes of up to 30 degrees and travel at 200m (660ft) per hour. ... The rover and lander are powered by solar panels but some sources suggest they also carry radioisotope heating units (RHUs), containing plutonium-238 to keep them warm during the cold lunar night. According to Chinese space scientists, the mission is designed to test new technologies, gather scientific data and build intellectual expertise. It will also scout valuable mineral resources that could one day be mined."
This is Taco Cowboy. I'm accessing this site over a public connection so I log in as an AC.
Can we come back from this?
I'm afraid this is no longer a case of whether we CAN come back - it is about the LIFE or DEATH of America as we know it.
The decline is not going to leave its impact economically but also on the social fabric.
You gotta understand that the mixture of the social pool of America has drastically changed the past few decades, from a predominantly white populace to a minority white society.
It's not a purely "race" thing, but rather, it's the ATTITUDE thing.
I'm not a White guy. I'm a Chinese. But I need to stress that the PURITANISM culture of the White society that brought on the "caretaker of the land" attitude which translated to the "hard working" practices that many of the first White settlers had demonstrated.
America's foundation was built on blood, sweat and tears of those first settlers.
However, with the influx of many of other people, most of them, unfortunately, do not share that kind of attitude of hard work.
Most of the current crop of Americans, yes, including many of the descendants of the White settlers, do not see "hard work" as a necessity to attain success.
If America falls further behind in term of industrial might and knowledge power, there won't be enough bread left to feed those who don't want to work hard, and that will most probably see the beginning of the end of America.