"The man whose name NASA has chosen to bestow upon the successor to the Hubble Space Telescope is most commonly linked to the Apollo moon program, not to science."
"Again, if the true objective here was to combat terrorists by spreading democracy, this would obviously be massively counterproductive. But of course we all know that this is not about spreading democracy, or combating terrorism, any more than Iraq or Afghanistan were about freedom and democracy. It is about control."
Yes, and we still control South Korea, Germany, and Japan too. We still have tens of thousands of military personnel stationed in each of those countries. I'll bet those fools think they are democracies too.
20th century policies like containment should work fine through the 21st century, right?
"here you have some terrible editorial trying to stir the spot, feeding into the slashdot groupthink and... stirring the pot. You already have people talking about the US "attacking" the internet. This is just shoddy journalism... "
I'm stunned that the parent got modded up. I was expecting open season on the evil US military-industrial complex. Maybe slashdot isn't as bad as I thought it was, or maybe I'm just new here.
I'm glad to hear that CIWS is remarkable. I always liked the theory, but I'd heard different reviews of how good it is from former sailors. I heard recently that Canadian Sailors say CIWS is an acronym meaining "Christ, it won't shoot".
So Hitler "stayed out of Switzerland".
Here are a few major reasons why
1) Switzerland has no major natural resources.
2) Switzerland was unable to trade with the Allies (surrounded by Fascists including Vichy France)
3) Switzerland had enough military and will to make them not worth the German resources which had priorities elsewhere. Why bother bringing them into the fight early when they are neutral?
4) Switzerland's infrastructure was important to move goods between Germany and Italy and would have been destroyed in an attack.
5) Switzerland offered financial services (essentially bought gold) which allowed Germans to pay on the international market after the German Currency was no longer accepted.
Hitler had plans to take over 70% of Switzerland, he is quoted as saying that he would deal with the little porcupine on the way back. So neutrality didn't save Switzerland, the Allies did.
War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself.
~John Stuart Mill
Simulations aren't remotely close to the real thing, but you can't accurately simulate war (since death = bad) so you have to break it down into what you can simulate. Sometimes this requires different training exercises in different combinations.
A few examples:
Fatigue: Physical stress is the one people always think of, but food/water/sleep deprivation are multiplying factors. The difference between a hero and a coward can be full belly and a good night's sleep. This element is often mixed heavily with the others.
Battle noise/Fog of war: Live ammo fire and manuever assaults with mortars/artillery (or artillery simulators), machineguns firing over your heads (usually from a hill that allows you to hear the crack of bullets), etc. This is often against plastic pop-up targets (a.k.a Crazy Ivan).
Enemy fire/cover: This is probably the hardest to simulate. Paintballs and Simunitions http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wax_bullets/ are one strategy. Paintballs are undesirable because you want to use your actual weapons. Simunitions are undesirable because it requires expensive weapon parts and simunitions aren't even as accurate as paintballs. Of course, neither of them simulates a near death experience.
Rifle range - marksmanship: accuracy, speed, distance shooting (500 yards with no scope and a man-sized target)
Simulations - Inexpensive way to play out complex scenarios. This is newer, but it can be surprisingly creative. The digital portion is only one piece, many Slashdot readers are familiar with what you can do with that end. I've seen some complex scenarios that involved a four man simulation in one room playing military scenarios on a big screen, communicating via radio to a mortar team practicing in a field. This scenario also had a corpsman (medic), referees (point out casualties), and it involved physical training before and after you were in the simulation.
By the time you get behind your rifle to execute the scenario you are dripping sweat and breathing heavily. In the middle of the game you might have to fireman carry your buddy to the corpsman (medic) or call in fictitious artillery/air strikes.
My parent comment was more of a reply to the article.
Harrison's remark: "It was like slashdot hooked to it [CNN]."
The "CNN can't leave CNN's Web site up." comment, which reminded me of the "techno arrogance" I just read about in the google story yesterday.
In general I thought the article really lacked any enlightening discussion and I would not call it a candid conversation between security experts. I'd mod it -1 redundant --I want 5 minutes of my life back. It reassured me that I made a good decision spending my time in Vegas in the sports book instead of going to the convention.
During a big news event slashdot's traffic might quadruple, but CNN's would be off the chart. CNN could slashdot slashdot (and most other sites).
Of the top ten google searches on 9/11 the only one that beat World Trade Center was CNN. 6000 users per minute were using google to find CNN. Effects of 9/11 on Google
1. Report failure. 2. Succeed!!! 3. Profit! (Raise public interest and therefore government $$$)
I'm usually the last one to break out the conspiracies but...
I'm starting to wonder if Space Programs aren't going to dramatize project failures or cancellations just to drum up public interest. You need failure or weird events to get press (Man bites Dog). Apollo 13 got the big movie because of its failure, not Apollo 11--the first manned lunar landing. I recall reading once about a televised moon landing falling behind baseball in ratings.
Wouldn't they tell a white lie to advance science?
It seems that every time I hear about the Webb Telescope, newbie/.ers keep referring to it as the "replacement" for the Hubble Telescope, and I cringe. It is not.
Ha! Those NASA n00bs bought it too:
"The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is an orbiting infrared observatory that will take the place of the Hubble Space Telescope at the end of this decade."
"The Wikipedia is not an authoritative source. It even states this in their disclaimer on their Web site."
How can you site an unauthorative source? I don't believe you, therefore it may be an authoritative site... Therefore I may believe you, but now I don't beleive them, so...
How can I trust that they are authoritatively unauthorative?
Seriously though, I've easily learned more from Wikipedia than any site on the net, or any Encylopedia for that matter. I do take it with a grain of salt, but it is good to read information critically. Between Wikipedia and Slashdot my BS filter is well-honed.
There are two types of Fascists in the world. The fascists and the anti-fascists.
Your compelling argument, backed up by your courage to put your name behind the opinions you stand for, and your well-cited research build a case that I simply can't argue with.
The Army is seriously investigating this and was well before the press got hold of it.
The fact that you are more worked up about what is going on in Abu Garab than you are of serious human rights abuses in Sudan, North Korea, and pre-2003 Iraq shows just how unreasonable and morally relativistic you are. You have a dangerous double-standard that reduces justice in this world. You blame America first and ignore serious crimes. You whip yourself into a frenzy that is so pathetic and illogical you can't even post your silly little user name on a web site. You are a card-carrying member of the Blame America First crowd.
Events like torture in Abu Garab do not promote democracy, you are right. I do hope that justice is served. Your accusations of corruption are baseless. The recent investigation has concluded that there was a problem in the chain-of-command for not paying enough attention to the situation. That is hardly damning, but it will be reported by some as a widespread problem. That makes it sound like corruption, but it isn't.
Also, please inform me why we are really in Iraq and what proof you have for your conspiracy theories.
How do you justify that you only have to pay taxes for law enforcement? Does that make you a coward if you have never strapped a pistol on your side and carried a badge? Can I support my police even though I "don't even have to get [my] fat ass out of [my] comfy chair"??
I happen to have a better excuse than most (according to the parent): I enlisted as an infantry Marine and served four years myself. Although this is a useful factoid for theses types of debates it is not necessary to have served to send the troops somewhere. Would you (parent) like it if I said that my service gives me the right to say when we go to war? Newsflash: Elected civilians manage the military. However, if it makes you feel better, many of the politicians in this counrty have served in the military.
I think a draft is a terrible idea. How would our Olympic Team perform as well if they were drafted instead of volunteer? Or your high school football team? If you want to increase casualties... introduce a draft.
Before you ask for a draft, ask some veterens what they think of a draft. I think you will find that most do not support it.
I beleive the people calling for the draft are the same people that would argue that the troops are forced to be there. Actually, many people already argue that troops are forced to be there by economic conditions (e.g. college loans). It is part of the Try-To-Make-All-Wars-Like-Vietnam Syndrome.
Finally, I recommend that everyone add one more perspective to the war and listen to the vets that have been/are over there. Take some time to find out what they think is right and wrong about Iraq.
Slashdot Mirror
First Sentence: http://www.jwst.nasa.gov/whois.html/
Christianity is still the world's largest religion. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_religious_groups
In Biblical times it was common to measure with your forearm (in cubits). Perhaps you could allow for some rounding.
"Again, if the true objective here was to combat terrorists by spreading democracy, this would obviously be massively counterproductive. But of course we all know that this is not about spreading democracy, or combating terrorism, any more than Iraq or Afghanistan were about freedom and democracy. It is about control."
Yes, and we still control South Korea, Germany, and Japan too. We still have tens of thousands of military personnel stationed in each of those countries. I'll bet those fools think they are democracies too.
20th century policies like containment should work fine through the 21st century, right?
"here you have some terrible editorial trying to stir the spot, feeding into the slashdot groupthink and... stirring the pot. You already have people talking about the US "attacking" the internet. This is just shoddy journalism ... "
I'm stunned that the parent got modded up. I was expecting open season on the evil US military-industrial complex. Maybe slashdot isn't as bad as I thought it was, or maybe I'm just new here.
For folks in the US: To opt out of receiving offers of credit in the mail, call: 1-888-5-OPTOUT (1-888-567-8688). http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/credit/idtheft .htm#Minimizing/
I'm glad to hear that CIWS is remarkable. I always liked the theory, but I'd heard different reviews of how good it is from former sailors. I heard recently that Canadian Sailors say CIWS is an acronym meaining "Christ, it won't shoot".
So Hitler "stayed out of Switzerland".
Here are a few major reasons why
1) Switzerland has no major natural resources.
2) Switzerland was unable to trade with the Allies (surrounded by Fascists including Vichy France)
3) Switzerland had enough military and will to make them not worth the German resources which had priorities elsewhere. Why bother bringing them into the fight early when they are neutral?
4) Switzerland's infrastructure was important to move goods between Germany and Italy and would have been destroyed in an attack.
5) Switzerland offered financial services (essentially bought gold) which allowed Germans to pay on the international market after the German Currency was no longer accepted.
Hitler had plans to take over 70% of Switzerland, he is quoted as saying that he would deal with the little porcupine on the way back. So neutrality didn't save Switzerland, the Allies did.
War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself. ~John Stuart Mill
Simunitions Link Sorry, I was in a hurry.
A few examples:
Fatigue: Physical stress is the one people always think of, but food/water/sleep deprivation are multiplying factors. The difference between a hero and a coward can be full belly and a good night's sleep. This element is often mixed heavily with the others.
Battle noise/Fog of war: Live ammo fire and manuever assaults with mortars/artillery (or artillery simulators), machineguns firing over your heads (usually from a hill that allows you to hear the crack of bullets), etc. This is often against plastic pop-up targets (a.k.a Crazy Ivan).
Enemy fire/cover: This is probably the hardest to simulate. Paintballs and Simunitions http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wax_bullets/ are one strategy. Paintballs are undesirable because you want to use your actual weapons. Simunitions are undesirable because it requires expensive weapon parts and simunitions aren't even as accurate as paintballs. Of course, neither of them simulates a near death experience.
Rifle range - marksmanship: accuracy, speed, distance shooting (500 yards with no scope and a man-sized target)
Simulations - Inexpensive way to play out complex scenarios. This is newer, but it can be surprisingly creative. The digital portion is only one piece, many Slashdot readers are familiar with what you can do with that end. I've seen some complex scenarios that involved a four man simulation in one room playing military scenarios on a big screen, communicating via radio to a mortar team practicing in a field. This scenario also had a corpsman (medic), referees (point out casualties), and it involved physical training before and after you were in the simulation.
By the time you get behind your rifle to execute the scenario you are dripping sweat and breathing heavily. In the middle of the game you might have to fireman carry your buddy to the corpsman (medic) or call in fictitious artillery/air strikes.
It isn't combat, but it is good training.
Lessons learned: ...
1) You run faster when you sling your weapon and draw your knife
2) Jumping reduces the chance of enemy headshots
3)
My parent comment was more of a reply to the article.
Harrison's remark: "It was like slashdot hooked to it [CNN]."
The "CNN can't leave CNN's Web site up." comment, which reminded me of the "techno arrogance" I just read about in the google story yesterday.
In general I thought the article really lacked any enlightening discussion and I would not call it a candid conversation between security experts. I'd mod it -1 redundant --I want 5 minutes of my life back. It reassured me that I made a good decision spending my time in Vegas in the sports book instead of going to the convention.
I was working at home on 9/11, and yes: CNN was down until they put up a no-graphics static page. Slashdot was up and running just fine.
Slashdot traffic ranking: 800
CNN traffic ranking: 24
During a big news event slashdot's traffic might quadruple, but CNN's would be off the chart. CNN could slashdot slashdot (and most other sites).
Of the top ten google searches on 9/11 the only one that beat World Trade Center was CNN. 6000 users per minute were using google to find CNN.
Effects of 9/11 on Google
Now that I think about it, I think it was a space shuttle launch that got worse ratings than a baseball game. Anyone remember?
1. Report failure.
2. Succeed!!!
3. Profit! (Raise public interest and therefore government $$$)
I'm usually the last one to break out the conspiracies but...
I'm starting to wonder if Space Programs aren't going to dramatize project failures or cancellations just to drum up public interest. You need failure or weird events to get press (Man bites Dog). Apollo 13 got the big movie because of its failure, not Apollo 11--the first manned lunar landing. I recall reading once about a televised moon landing falling behind baseball in ratings.
Wouldn't they tell a white lie to advance science?
It seems that every time I hear about the Webb Telescope, newbie /.ers keep referring to it as the "replacement" for the Hubble Telescope, and I cringe. It is not.
Ha! Those NASA n00bs bought it too:
"The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is an orbiting infrared observatory that will take the place of the Hubble Space Telescope at the end of this decade."
http://www.jwst.nasa.gov/FastFacts/
Whats next... thumb drive spoilers?
NAMBLA
How can you site an unauthorative source? I don't believe you, therefore it may be an authoritative site... Therefore I may believe you, but now I don't beleive them, so...
How can I trust that they are authoritatively unauthorative?
Seriously though, I've easily learned more from Wikipedia than any site on the net, or any Encylopedia for that matter. I do take it with a grain of salt, but it is good to read information critically. Between Wikipedia and Slashdot my BS filter is well-honed.
http://www.google.com/search?q=site:http://www.new americancentury.org+property/
Can you provide a quote?
3.4 × 1038 / 6.3 × 9 = 10*
*(Answer is in base 5.3 x 1028)
Don't we have the makings for a really big generator?
Your compelling argument, backed up by your courage to put your name behind the opinions you stand for, and your well-cited research build a case that I simply can't argue with.
P.S. your link doesn't work.
The Army is seriously investigating this and was well before the press got hold of it. The fact that you are more worked up about what is going on in Abu Garab than you are of serious human rights abuses in Sudan, North Korea, and pre-2003 Iraq shows just how unreasonable and morally relativistic you are. You have a dangerous double-standard that reduces justice in this world. You blame America first and ignore serious crimes. You whip yourself into a frenzy that is so pathetic and illogical you can't even post your silly little user name on a web site. You are a card-carrying member of the Blame America First crowd. Events like torture in Abu Garab do not promote democracy, you are right. I do hope that justice is served. Your accusations of corruption are baseless. The recent investigation has concluded that there was a problem in the chain-of-command for not paying enough attention to the situation. That is hardly damning, but it will be reported by some as a widespread problem. That makes it sound like corruption, but it isn't. Also, please inform me why we are really in Iraq and what proof you have for your conspiracy theories.
I happen to have a better excuse than most (according to the parent): I enlisted as an infantry Marine and served four years myself. Although this is a useful factoid for theses types of debates it is not necessary to have served to send the troops somewhere. Would you (parent) like it if I said that my service gives me the right to say when we go to war? Newsflash: Elected civilians manage the military. However, if it makes you feel better, many of the politicians in this counrty have served in the military.
I think a draft is a terrible idea. How would our Olympic Team perform as well if they were drafted instead of volunteer? Or your high school football team? If you want to increase casualties... introduce a draft.
Before you ask for a draft, ask some veterens what they think of a draft. I think you will find that most do not support it.
I beleive the people calling for the draft are the same people that would argue that the troops are forced to be there. Actually, many people already argue that troops are forced to be there by economic conditions (e.g. college loans). It is part of the Try-To-Make-All-Wars-Like-Vietnam Syndrome.
Finally, I recommend that everyone add one more perspective to the war and listen to the vets that have been/are over there. Take some time to find out what they think is right and wrong about Iraq.