Korean Rocket Blows Up: Is This What We Are Wasting All That Money to Protect Ourselves From?

[Better Believe It]

Is This What We Are Wasting All That Money to Protect Ourselves From?
By: Jon Walker
April 13, 2012

Yesterday North Korea decided to test one of the long range missiles and the result was a disaster for the despots ruling the small impoverished country. The rocket disintegrated soon after it launched. In a rare public admission of failure, the North Korea government admitted the satellite on the rocket had been destroyed.

Watching this small country fail to successfully launch even a single long range rocket should get everyone thinking about why exactly we are spending so much taxpayer money on “defense.” Military spending makes up an incredible 20% of our federal budget and we spend more on our military than the next 10 largest militaries combined.

What exactly are we spending all this money to defend ourselves from? North Korea is the sole remaining member of George W. Bush’s “axis of evil” and they are a tiny poverty-ridden country that can’t even build a single rocket. North Korea can’t hit the United States if it wanted to, but the United States could easily bomb the whole small country into oblivion.

We keep building an army to fight some imaginary World War III, but there is no USSR to fear. There is nothing even approaching a real military threat to the existence of the United States, yet we keep wasting a huge share of the nation’s wealth on weapons. We make boogeymen out of the few remaining small, crazy and mostly incompetent dictators to try to justify spending a fortune on billion dollar toys from politically well-connected defense contractors.

Read the full article at:

http://fdlaction.firedoglake.com/2012/04/13/is-this-what-we-are-wasting-all-that-money-to-protect-ourselves-from/

[customerserviceguy]

1. As I recall, both the US and the USSR had some pretty spectacular failures

early on in their respective space programs. However, after a few years of practice, no one doubted their ability to blow up the whole world by the time of the Cuban Missle Crisis.

I have no doubt that the North Korean leadership also believes that practice makes perfect, in both rockets and nuclear bombs.

[Better Believe It]

3. North Korea doesn't have anything even remotely approaching the ICBM rockets of the U.S. and Russia.

The rocket they just blew up looks a lot like the old Vanguard rockets that were used in 1957-59 to launch 20 lb satellites into orbit!

The Vanguard rockets could barely lift a bowling ball into orbit much less deliver a nuclear bomb!

And the Vanguard rockets of 55 years ago were clearly more advanced than the North Korean "ka-boom" model which has failed to orbit three times now!

They don't have the technology to even build old Atlas or Titan type ICBM's or a half century ago so relax.

North Korea is not preparing to launch an invasion and war against the United States in the next few years .... or decade.

There is not going to be a "comminist" invasion and overthrow of the United States government from Korea.

So no need for us to "duck and cover" or hide under our beds.

Relax!

[customerserviceguy]

4. Clearly, the US and the USSR

had more resources to develop rockets, and that sped along their success. On the other hand, neither nation had plans to make a bundle of money by selling the things, either. North Korea has that incentive.

Laugh at them today, but if ignored, they will have some quality stuff in not too many years. This is the time to be concerned about it. Maybe not in the US, from them, but at some point, they'll sell their technology to those who will be quite willing to use it against Western interests. Hell, if I was living in Japan, I'd be damned worried about payback for WWII.

[Zalatix]

9. Zzzzzzzzzzzzz what? Oh yeah, North Korea.

Wake me up when they get a rocket that does more than produce pretty fireworks.

[customerserviceguy]

24. Believe me, it will be a wakeup call for all of us if that happens. n/t

[LAGC]

12. But I thought in the new "Red Dawn" movie North Korea is going to invade the U.S.?

Surely they wouldn't make a movie about it if the threat wasn't really there...

[Better Believe It]

20. Good point! Keep your gun powder dry!

[fascisthunter]

2. nope... but I'm sure the lobbyists for companies who make weapons will tell us different.

[lumberjack_jeff]

5. Why think "that wasted money" didn't cause it to blow up?

They've had several spectacular rocket failures. I suspect the failures have the same root cause.

I don't reject the idea that the us defense programs and the failures are related.

[FSogol]

21. If wasted money makes rockets blow up, why not make a space-based shield out of

wasted money to protect ourselves? Reagan's Star Wars Defense Initiative is already taken, so we can name it, the BBI Defense Initiative.

[Electric Monk]

6. North Korea tested a 3 stage rocket today. The 2nd stage was denial.

- Bill Maher

[Major Nikon]

7. To be fair, some of it goes to protecting us from dipshits who can't light a fuse on their shoe

...and crackh..., er masterminds who want to blow up the Sears tower.

Just sayin'

[Control-Z]

8. Perhaps we played

a role in that failure or at least hindered the progress they obviously didn't make.

[Egalitarian Thug]

10. I seem to remember a Democrat that asked this question 4 years ago.

"Who do we think is going to attack us"?
The greatest enemy we have is China, and we're told that they are our good and dear friends and that we have bought that friendship by sacrificing our citizen's future.

And the North Koreans? Seriously? Who the hell do they think is keeping them alive?

This is such an obvious con-job, perhaps we deserve what were getting just for being so unbelievably gullible.

[Yavin4]

23. We're Defending Ourselves from China by Sending Them All of Our Jobs

See, they'll be sooo busy making our stuff that they won't have time to form an invasion force.

Clever huh?

[Alamuti Lotus]

11. the whole matter reeks of really unwarranted hysteria..

[DevonRex]

13. You said it was a "weather satellite" before.

You need to make up your mind.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=558418

[Better Believe It]

15. No I didn't. You need to read posts before commenting on and misquoting them.

Do you also write movie reviews on films you haven't seen?

Here is what I actually wrote at your link:

"It could have been (a weather satellite) but if you know for certain that it wasn't please post your information.

I think either it was a very simple basic weather satellite or a communications device similiar to Russia's first satellite launched in 1957.

I'd guess it was a pretty small satellite because their rocket doesn't look much more powerful or bigger than the old "Vanguard" rocket used to launch our satellites in 1957-59."

Do you know the difference between my writing"it could have been" a weather satellite and your false quote claiming that I wrote "it was a weather satellite"?

[DevonRex]

25. Yet on that basis, you condemned Obama for cutting off food aid.

That game of Twister you've been playing has gone on for a very, very long time. Ever since Obama got the nomination way back in 2008, as a matter of fact. Wouldn't you like to unwind now? Your joints must be really achy by now and your poor muscles! Oh my, they simply must be in knots!

Uh oh. Right hand BLUE! Blue for Obama 2012. Can you do it?

[Better Believe It]

27. You wrote: "You said it was a "weather satellite" before." Once again. That's not what I wrote!

Last edited Sun Apr 15, 2012, 11:20 PM - Edit history (1)

And that's why you're doing a little song and dance routine to try and change the subject.

That's a very old "debating" tactic frequently used by untalented people who lack debating skills!

I sure hope you're not in that category!

But, if that's the best you've got you have my sympathy.

Why not just admit you made an "error" or "mistake", if that is what in fact what happened, when you made that claim?

Or would you rather try yet another effort to evade a response to my post by changing the subject?

Once again contrary to your post is what I actually wrote at your link:

"It could have been (a weather satellite) but if you know for certain that it wasn't please post your information.

I think either it was a very simple basic weather satellite or a communications device similiar to Russia's first satellite launched in 1957.

I'd guess it was a pretty small satellite because their rocket doesn't look much more powerful or bigger than the old "Vanguard" rocket used to launch our satellites in 1957-59."

Do you understand the difference between my writing "it could have been" a weather satellite and your false quote claiming that I wrote "it was a weather satellite"?

[Lionel Mandrake]

14. N. Korea is NOT the "sole remaining member of

George W. Bush’s 'axis of evil' ”. Only Saddam Hussein's Iraq is gone. The regime in Iran is still the same as it was when W occupied the White House.


The Supreme Leader of Iran (since i989) - Ayatollah Khamenei

[Better Believe It]

17. You're right. Does the Obama adm. still claim Cuba is a government that supports terrorism?

I guess that's just one step short of becoming a new member of the "axis of evil"!

[Lionel Mandrake]

18. Any chance that Cuba might have had was lost

when they let the Pope in. Now Cuba will never be allowed to join the Axis of Evil.
?t=1332969479&s=4

[Posteritatis]

16. Artillery tubes are somewhat simpler devices than multistage rockets. (nt)

[Better Believe It]

19. So are baking soda and vinegar rockets!

It looks like there is a major flaw in the design of their multi-stage rocket.

They should work on a single stage baking soda rocket and after they perfect it work on building a two stage one!

[WilliamPitt]

22. It must be Obama's fault.

[Better Believe It]

28. What is Obama's fault?

[SidDithers]

26. Ctrl-V for Victory!!...nt

Sid

[FSogol]

29. Hilarious!

Ctrl-V!

[SidDithers]

30. All credit to Codeine for that one...

Sid