No it isn't. Unless somehow a piece of something equals the entire whole.



Well yes, but we don't have laws against it. You guys do.

Except they're arguing over whether having the military "want to take control" over the satellite power idea means trying to control the entire energy industry or just a part. I'm really looking forward to their silliness, don't interrupt

The Freedom of Information act has a clause which exempts things which if revealed would threaten national security. There are in fact nine exemptions from the FOIA. I for one completely understand that most of the exceptions made (except for the one where geological information is exempt from a FOIA request; I don't quite get that one). Want proof?

http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/nsa/foia/guide.html#exemptions

Oh and by the way, in case you try to argue that these exemptions make FOIA useless and the government will just cover up embarrasing stuff under "national security" consider all the embarrasing stuff that has come out because of the FOIA (like the long history of the CIA usage of coups in third world nations). The FOIA has a very important purpose, but let's be honest. If all the US military budget (the R&D especially) was released to the public that WOULD be a threat to national security. Understand that I think politicians do pull out the national security crap too often (like the Patriot Act or NSA warrent-less wiretapping). However, sometimes things DO need to be kept secret and those things are on the US's black budget.

Three billion dollars are black, not missing, unless you have evidence to the contrary.

Useless, more cost effective to build it in the desert.

I'd like to see Richard Branson or someone say 'you know, this might actually be a pretty good platform for launches' and use the cable as a space elevator, though!


fake edit: oh it's wireless. what a bummer.

absolutely not.

as in sunk in a black ops-hole someplace.

listen emp, they arent going to say "this is our budget for black, mystery stuffs!"

when we do something, we do it well.

LIES!!! EVERYONE KNOWS DESERTS HAVE MORE LOGISTIC AND TACTICAL POINTS THAN ANYWHERE ELSE!!!

I fixed it for ya

You forget that for any significant energy gathering these satelites will have to be placed in very high orbit or even around other planets. Unlikely the Chinese will come up with a missle that will take a nuclear charge to Venus.

Well, you say there is three trillion dollars missing from the budget.

I say I'm the Lord God of Abarawuhatutha! And my claim is just as valid as yours, seeing as how neither of us is bothering with such completely unnecessary niceties as evidence.

Edit: ./smites the unbeliever TGE when he tries to dispute this fact, foolishly neglecting evidence after several requests

given the relative expenses, yes thats exactly what I'm saying

in this day and age its still hard to believe people dont understand how big space is.

"bumping" requires contact, which requires precise calculations, which requires good surveillence equipment

all of which the Chinese have a vast scarcity of. besides they would do more damage to random nation's satellites than to ours, and then the little damage they do to ours costs a half pence to put back up in space

there are several factors at work behind my claim:
1) satellites practically roll off the factory line now, replacing them is a breeze for us, very few are so expensive that we would fret losing them, and those tend to be international or just curiousity stuffs (the international space station, hubble etc.)
2) the chinese arent precisely experts at getting things into orbit, they can do it, but we're much better at it. if you ask me if they can consistantly hit a region with enough of accuracy for a shotgun approach to work effectively, I doubt it. you ask if they can hit a satellite consistantly? I laugh in your face.
3) relative costs, the chinese would have to waste a lot of manpower and time for to make a missile, we really dont need to to make a satellite.
yes they have lots of manpower, but we're talking relative costs here, it would be extremely expensive for them
4) space is vast, really this should be a given. even if they used a shrapenel approach (because a shock wave would do bollocks) the chances of it hitting, eh... not really.

I'm not saying they cannot do it. I'm just saying its easier for us to replace the damage than it is for them to do it in the first place, at best they would slow any invasion of ours, not stop it.

not to mention how much all the europeans would FLIP when their satellites start getting shot down too, talk about a big alliance there.