"New and improved" US National Space policy

[Swatopluk]

http://www.ostp.gov/html/US%20National%20Space%20Policy.pdf

The White House has authorized a new national space policy that sparks quite some controversy at the moment.

Comments go from "What's new?" to "Bush declares international law nil and void for outer space preemptively".

From my point of view it's a declaration of "we decide what's going on out there and nobody else" with too much "national security" and "national interest" qualifiers for the flowery "freedom of space" rhethoric to be anything but empty phrases.

I predicted years ago that Bush would shred effectively if not formally the last remaining international treaties even before there would be a "necessity" and had the antarctica and the space treaty in mind. Alas, looks like I got it right.

I'd be interested how you interpret the new policy and if it indeed means what I think it does (look also out for comparisions with Clinton's version from 10 years ago).

[Sibling Chatty]

He's shoveling through as much as he can before January.

The new Congress, if it doen't move to impeach, will certainly censure, void the whole signing statements garbage, restore habeus corpus and repair posse comitatus, and, if they're smart, make a good number of other changes.

The Real Republicans are furious at Shrub. the more he destroys the very foundations of the country, the more they just come out and DEMAND a Democratic  takeover. The pundits and commentators are all turning against him. Michael Savage has even called for a Democratic Congress to try to clean up the mess.

[beagle]

This might have been one of the contributory factors:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/09/26/wchina226.xml

[Swatopluk]

This was also mentioned in one of the commentaries I read.
Actually not much new about it technically. The Soviets did some experiments on their own satellites that way in the past (Clancy adopted the event for his "Cardinal in the Kremlin" just exaggerating it from blinding to (failed) destruction.

I think the main thing about this "new" policy is its relatively open declaration of willingness to trample on other people's "space rights", if they interfere with "US interests".
To be honest that is not just a Bush thing but "normal" US behaviour that is usually plastered over with freedom rhethoric.

The one true Bush part is from my point of view the preemptive treaty shredding.

[goat starer]

The last days of Rome my friends! The US is working its way up to collapse. All empires go mad and crumble in the end. Overstretched in hopeless unending wars, social divisions growing at home, an economy falling behind the east. the stage is set for a dramatic collapse and as Danny said in Withnail and I "there's going to be a lot of refugees"

[Sibling Zono (anon1mat0)]

Every empire has the [self-appointed] right to deal with any threat real or imaginary.

Obviously the real threat is its imperial behavior, but tell that to the emperor.

The China thing is interesting, honestly it makes perfect sense to prevent space spionage for any of the powers involved (US, Russia & China, possibly the EU too). The old dream of Reagan lives...

[Teripie]

Just the other day I was speculating what would be different if the moon landing had happened today. I'm pretty sure the US would have claimed it. I always wondered why we didn't do so in the first place. We used to be such nice guys, huh?

[Sibling Chatty]

Ronald "Barking Mad Opportunist"  Reagan is laughing in his grave.

[Sibling Zono (anon1mat0)]

Just the other day I was speculating what would be different if the moon landing had happened today.

Possibly lunar *fireworks* on a new moon, something on the order of 3 to 5 Megatons, in the evening, visible from Asia.

Ronald "Barking Mad Opportunist"  Reagan is laughing in his grave.

His henchmen are laughing now...

[Sibling Chatty]

Would that the henchmen were with him...

[Bob in a quantum-state-of-faith]

Would that the henchmen were with him...

RAmen and RAmen!

[goat starer]

His fancy lady is still going strong. It takes more than clinical insanity and old age to keep Mrs Thatcer down.

[Scriblerus the Philosophe]

Oh dear....
I'm really at the point where all I want is the neo/theo cons and the yes-men out. I want real repubs and some intelligent democrats and heavens forbid, some decent thrid parties, in there. I'm hoping for impeachment right now.

I still like Regan, myself. Last of the semi-real repubs, me thinks, along with Goldwater and Buchannan.