The Washington Post has an editorial by Vice President Pence, asking Congress to pass our National Defense Authorization Act for, or of 2020. Which will create a 6th branch of the United States military, called the United States Space Force. It's going to be part of the Air Force, but, this one won't be in the air. It will be in space. And there's no air, there. An excerpt:
Under this proposal, the Space Force would be within the Air Force, similar to the placement of the Marine Corps within the Navy. More than any other organization, the Air Force has been at the vanguard of building the world’s best military space programs. So, creating the Space Force within the Air Force is the best way to minimize duplication of effort and eliminate bureaucratic inefficiencies.
Just as the Air Force began within the Army before becoming a separate military department, so too will this first step in establishing the Space Force pave the way for a separate military department in the future. The Space Force is the next and the natural evolution of U.S. supremacy in space.
Also at Chicago Tribune.
(Score: 3, Informative) by redneckmother on Sunday March 03 2019, @06:47PM (27 children)
What happens to all the international agreements to avoid militarizing space?
Mas cerveza por favor.
(Score: -1, Redundant) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 03 2019, @07:01PM (20 children)
Maybe this is the game plan to kick off WW3?
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 03 2019, @07:07PM (19 children)
After voiding the Paris accords, evading the Rome Statute, violating the Geneva Conventions, and reneging on The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, what do you expect from a Rouge state full of Red Pillars and the Stable Genius?
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 03 2019, @07:59PM
Impeachment?
(Score: 3, Touché) by Runaway1956 on Sunday March 03 2019, @08:20PM (10 children)
rouge noun
\ ˈrüzh
, especially Southern ˈrüj\
Definition of rouge
(Entry 1 of 2)
1 : any of various cosmetics for coloring the cheeks or lips red
2 : a red powder consisting essentially of ferric oxide used in polishing glass, metal, or gems and as a pigment
rouge verb
rouged; rouging
Definition of rouge (Entry 2 of 2)
transitive verb
1 : to apply rouge to
2 : to cause to redden
intransitive verb
: to use rouge
Examples of rouge in a Sentence
Noun
She was wearing too much rouge.
So, from the context, I presume you are referring to Red China?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 03 2019, @08:38PM (3 children)
Baton Rogue? Sarah Palin "refudiates" you, Runaway!
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Sunday March 03 2019, @08:52PM (2 children)
Red Stick. There are at least a half dozen versions of the Red Stick from Native American lore. I've always presumed that the name is a tribute to an Indian tribe for it's fighting prowess.
Hmmm - not so. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Baton_Rouge,_Louisiana [wikipedia.org] This particular "red pole" simply marked the border between two Indian nations.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 04 2019, @12:01AM (1 child)
Gotta love American-English. Clueless 'murikans abusing foreign languages.
(Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 04 2019, @12:41AM
Baton Rogue, Runaway! Rogue! As in a stick that has run amok! A wild stick! A stick for the clueless, a clue stick! Which could, or may not be, a cue stick. You need one.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 03 2019, @08:41PM
I thought it was a dig at Trump - didn't he use that spelling in a tweet or something?
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Monday March 04 2019, @12:03AM
Red Pillars going "whooossh" over your head.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2) by captain normal on Monday March 04 2019, @06:02AM
Are you talking about something like this? : https://www.amazon.com/AirBrush-Fake-Bake-Develops-Continuous/dp/B001183N9K [amazon.com]
Should give you a nice orange skin tone just like your homeboy.
When life isn't going right, go left.
(Score: 4, Funny) by All Your Lawn Are Belong To Us on Monday March 04 2019, @03:04PM
I bomb your dictionary and launch an all-out assault to steal the plans to find a flaw in them. For I am a member of Rouge One.
This sig for rent.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 04 2019, @04:10PM (1 child)
You're an idiot, reread the GP's post, that was not a typo.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Monday March 04 2019, @04:50PM
*yawn*
Despite the fact that you are "correct", we still had fun with it. You must be the life of every part in your county, right? No one would refer to you as a curmudgeon, would they?
(Score: 5, Funny) by fyngyrz on Sunday March 03 2019, @11:16PM (5 children)
Well... if Pence sets this up, I expect that men won't be allowed anywhere near women unless they have their wives with them, all operations will be proceeded by prayer, and superior female officers (if any) will be addressed as "Mother" (although of course you can't meet with them for meals alone, regardless of the form of address you use.)
--
I run like the winded.
(Score: 0, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 03 2019, @11:53PM (4 children)
He’s such a fool to not eat with women alone. Everyone should be able to be accused of sexual harassment 30 years later!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 04 2019, @03:02AM
Maybe something Islam got right...
(Score: 3, Funny) by fyngyrz on Monday March 04 2019, @03:26PM (2 children)
So you are inclined to allow this particular bout of cultural hysteria to prevent you from interacting with half the human race without a chaperone?
Seems... extreme. But hey, if you live in that much fear, by all means, join the space force, I guess. 😊
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Before you louse something up, THIMK!
(Score: 3, Insightful) by DeathMonkey on Monday March 04 2019, @04:35PM (1 child)
Y'know, it's amazing.
Here I am all white and male, and yet, I have never been accused of sexism or racism.
I wonder if not being sexist or racist has anything to do with it...
(Score: 3, Funny) by fyngyrz on Monday March 04 2019, @06:13PM
Oh yeah? Well, you just try putting on a little innocent blackface and going out and grabbing some chick in a friendly way by her covfefe... you'll see how quick your non-sexist, non-racist ass lands in the fire!
Humph.
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Don't use "beefstew" as a password.
It's not stroganoff.
(Score: 4, Informative) by Phoenix666 on Monday March 04 2019, @02:56PM
The Geneva Conventions have been routinely violated since Guantanamo and torture were normalized under Bush & Cheney. Those practices were continued by successors.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 03 2019, @07:33PM (1 child)
That ship has sailed before. Russians have had a space force (since the 70s?), and the us had had space command within the air force.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by takyon on Sunday March 03 2019, @07:44PM
This fact is just completely ignored every time this topic comes up.
Space Force is mostly a money shuffle and rebranding until otherwise noted (such as an announcement is made that weapons or troops are being stationed in orbit). We already have secret space missions conducted by the Air Force, and they could launch weapons if they wanted to.
Treaties are pretty much unenforceable unless you have a consensus to impose sanctions or are willing to go to war over the matter. The U.S. can break them or withdraw from them with impunity, e.g. the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty [nbcnews.com].
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 4, Informative) by linkdude64 on Sunday March 03 2019, @11:20PM (2 children)
Do you really think Xi or Putin will be sitting at his desk one day and say something like, "Let's get an upper hand on the American GPS system....*GASP* Oh, no! The treaty!...The treaty!...over..powering...me...Let's just be peaceful instead!" and have their breath freed by the Power of the Treaty?
A locked door keeps out honest people, and that's what the treaty is. The only countries OTHER than the US who want to put weapons in space right now are China and Russia. And NK. If you think "being a role model for the kids" i.e. European countries is important at this point, then you are welcome to submit to the rapes and murders Europeans are experiencing right now. For the people who want to survive, raising a defense is a very unkosher, yet very natural, organic, non-GMO behavior. China and Russia either have plans that have been uncovered, or are already in violation of said treaty without question. "Muh weapons of mass destruction" was an excuse for active warfare over resources. This is not a war for resources - space has no resources. This is a technological arms race only, that won't result in mass deaths, only - hopefully - leaps in innovation that will then trickle out into the public domain over time, while likely remaining a nuclear stalemate as presently is the case.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 04 2019, @07:17AM
And Iran.
And Israel. Israel needs it to have leverage over the US.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 04 2019, @07:42PM
Stop projecting.
Yanks don't like to do the right thing unless cornered. However I notice that Russia *has* kept to their signatures.
I used to be a fan. Now I believe that Churchill was right in his estimations.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 04 2019, @05:46AM
Is the other big less friendly nations building one covertly?
Agreements aside, if your frenemies are doing it covertly and you're not then you're being naive. Whether you should follow suit and do it covertly or officially is a different matter.
Do we really think the Chinese and Russians are just sending people and stuff up there with zero military purposes/agenda?