Thursday, February 21, 2008

Overheard on NPR

On NPR this morning they were commenting about how the risk of anyone being fatally exposed to rocket fuel gas from the spy satellite was "only 3% and even then you'd have to hold your face next to it and breathe for a while"  Clearly, this was just a pointless display of military might. 

Suppose the satellite had not been shot down.  And it hit a populated area.  And someone died. 

Would the NPR commentators have said:  gee, it was only a 3% chance, I guess we rolled the dice on that one and came out wrong.  Well, in the end, that was a good call to take a 3% chance. 

That's why I only listen to NPR during the Leg. Session.  Their coverage has more depth than anyone else's (in the morning at least, Nightside project all the way in the evening). 


2 comments:

Ken said...

Nothing better than a show of military might to keep rogue nations in check. I can just imagine the chills that went down the spines of Iran, China, North Korea, and Russia.

dawnawanna said...

Oh when I heard the story that the Navy was gonna shoot down the satellite, I figured somebody thought it was a good time to have some fun and try out the cool toys. I never figured anybody was really in very much danger.

I don't think the military was trying to prove anything, I think they were just practicing.