News Update

• Vandenberg AFB in California was the landing place for the Pentagon's new military space plane last month after a 22-month mission orbiting the Earth. It's part of Strategic Command's "prompt global strike" program suggesting to Russia and China that they could be quickly hit from space.  After the shuttle was retired we were told that the X-37 (and other similar programs now under development) would be the successor to the shuttle.  But the X-37 has nothing to do with peaceful space exploration or NASA.  It's being developed for surveillance and to give the US first-strike capability.  Important issue to follow.  Very expensive and destabilizing program. See more here
• NASA moved the International Space Station (ISS) to another position in orbit last Wednesday in order to reportedly avoid space junk coming dangerously close.  NASA said it was a small piece of an old Chinese satellite.  Seems a bit far fetched to me that NASA can differentiate every bit of the more than 25,000 pieces of debris in space.  Many believe that because of the vast amount of space junk up there some day the $100 billion ISS will be hit.  Could the US being setting the stage to blame China?  God only knows how much of the space junk up there comes from the most dominate space power on Earth - the USA.
• I did two interviews with PressTV today.  One over the phone about US-Russian relations taking another nose dive and the other via Skype on the election in Okinawa for governor which was won by a candidate who is opposed to US bases on the island and pledges to stop expansion of new bases.  The US is pressuring the right-wing Abe government to force 'compliance' on the people of Okinawa.  The Abe government offered bribes to Okinawa that they would get more money if they agreed to support the pro-base candidate for governor.  Still the people said no.  The interview on Russian relations is here