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In February of 2013, skywatchers around the world turned their attention toward asteroid 2012 DA14, a cosmic rock about 150 feet (50 meters) in diameter that was going to fly closer to Earth than the spacecraft that bring us satellite TV. Little did they realize as they prepared for the once-in-several-decades event that another bit of celestial debris was hurtling toward Earth, with a more direct heading. On Feb. 15, 2013, the Chelyabinsk meteor, a roughly 62-foot (19 meter)-diameter asteroid exploded over the city of Chelyabinsk, Russia, as it entered Earth's atmosphere at a shallow angle. The blast shattered windows...

Posted on April 14, 2021April 14, 2021 by Matt WilliamsIf you Want to Move an Asteroid, you Need the Right Kind of Nuclear ExplosionUsing nuclear devices to deflect or disrupt an asteroid. Sounds a bit crazy, no? Maybe a little too Hollywood? And yet, detonating nukes in space may be necessary someday for the sake of planetary defense. In order for this method to be effective, scientists need to work out all the particulars in advance. That means knowing how much force will be necessary depending on the mass and trajectory of the asteroid.Recently, a research collaboration between Lawrence Livermore...

We have just witnessed one of the most stunning and humiliating climb downs of any president in the history of the United States. Obama's humiliation is entirely of his own making. He unilaterally threatened to wage war, however limited he said it would be, for no clear purpose, with no clear strategy and with no clear outcome. He did so thoughtlessly by proclaiming a "red line" and thus backing himself through inadvertence and, more important, his country into an untenable position. He pushed the country out onto a limb only to find he was alone, without allies, without Congress, even...

House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa appeared to be getting under the skin of Democrats as they hit back hard — bringing up the congressman's past from more than four decades ago. Issa's allegations about what the White House knew about the IRS targeting conservatives rattled Democrats into sending out a barrage of counter claims. Former senior Obama aide David Plouffe ripped Issa in a Twitter message, referring to allegations from as far back as 1972 when Issa was still a teenager. "Strong words from Mr Grand Theft Auto and suspected arsonist/insurance swindler. And loose ethically today," Plouffe tweeted. Plouffe's...

Napolitano defends report on right-wing extremist groupsApril 15, 2009 The Department of Homeland Security will never monitor ideology or political beliefs, the head of the agency said Wednesday, responding to criticism of a recent report on right-wing extremist groups. **SNIP** The report, "Right-wing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment," said right-wing extremist groups may be using the recession and the election of the nation's first African-American president to recruit members. The report, which was prepared in coordination with the FBI, was published last week. It was distributed to federal, state and local law enforcement...

I love when progressives who’ve stood against Israeli settlements and “zionists” suddenly find compassion for Jewish people, even if it’s manufactured compassion to feign straw man outrage at conservatives. Baby steps! While watching this interview with Frances Fox Piven posted below, I momentarily missed Olbermann. Sure, he was a far-left partisan, but he was an entertaining broadcaster, something from which his socialist views cannot detract. Here is MSNBC sub Cenk Uygur in a bizarre interview with Piven right after he tries to make Glenn Beck out to be anti-semitic because some of the people he criticizes are or may be...

Can you remember these headlines from just days ago? Washington Post: “Obama Responds to Growing Criticism of Recovery Act” & “Obama Calls for Patience On Impact of Stimulus” Roll Call: “Obama Defends Stimulus as GOP Targets Spending” The Hill: “Cantor: Obama policies aren't working” Or perhaps these headlines? Fox: “New Polls Reveal Big Problems for Obama” & “Obama's Popularity Plummets in Ohio as Residents Express Impatience” Politico: “Obama losing independents” What’s a President to do when the economic news of the day is that his massive spending program is not working? Would it be to change course to provide real...

Only drugs and vaccines will deflect bird flu pandemic 18:00 26 April 2006 NewScientist.com news service Debora MacKenzie In just 16 weeks, the pandemic near-saturates the US (Image: Neil Ferguson) The picture is just as bleak for the UK (Image: Neil Ferguson)One of the world’s most powerful pandemic models has reached a stark conclusion: only combining a pre-pandemic vaccine with larger stocks of antiviral drugs than currently planned would really prevent mass disease. Closing borders and restricting travel will do very little.The conclusions mirror those reached earlier this month by a separate group working with a different model in the...

· Three-year study will use computer simulations · 'It's a small risk, but with a high consequence' British scientists are set to go where only Bruce Willis has gone before: chasing after asteroids on a collision course with Earth. In a three-year £300,000 study funded by the government-backed Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, engineers will use computer simulations to work out the feasibility of changing the direction of asteroids. "It's clear from geological records that the Earth has been impacted in the past by large objects," said Colin McInnes of Strathclyde University. Although none of the space objects currently...

In a sign that the issue is moving up the space community's agenda, researchers from the University of Glasgow will work with ESA and satellite specialist EADS Astrium to determine the best method of deflecting asteroids from a collision course with Earth. They will consider everything from hitting the objects with nuclear weapons to dragging them with a solar sail, and devise accurate mission simulations. Until now space agencies have neglected the topic of diverting asteroids, according to Dr Gianmarco Radice, project leader and member of the space systems engineering research group at Glasgow's department of aerospace engineering. 'Very little...

"Stop diggin'" John Kerry, Bill Clinton political cartoon.  Apr. 28, 2004... "When practical people find  themselves in a hole, they stop digging. When ideological people find themselves in a hole, they ask for a bigger shovel."Bill Clinton