The Real Star Wars: Coming Soon to a Sky Near You

The Boston Globe informs us that the Pentagon is asking for hundreds of millions of dollars to test weapons in space. This is sure to spark international tension as the US again tries to claim a piece of the sky as its own and to arm it with offensive and defensive weapons.

Americans need to ask themselves why their government should even consider such a move at a time when the cost of the Iraq war is quickly reaching half a trillion dollars, the trade deficit will hit some $3 trillion this year and the national debt is, well, an absolutely mind-boggling figure.

And the Pentagon wants to play star wars?

The big-budget projects are spread across the Defense Department, but most are under the purview of the Missile Defense Agency, which oversees the development of a national missile shield, a system heavily dependent on space-based hardware. The shield could also be used to destroy those missiles or strike back at the adversaries who fired them.

Canadians need to keep a close eye on PM Stephen Harper as he cozies up with Bush or we'll be playing a part in this nonsense as well.

''There is a very strong desire among most states to get a negotiation going," said Peggy Mason, Canada's former UN ambassador for disarmament. But the UN Conference on Disarmament operates according to consensus and the United States has stymied talks on the issue, Mason said.

No wonder.

This tidbit in that article is worthy of note as well:

The military already has reconnaissance and communications satellites, but the Pentagon says weapons systems in space can protect commercial satellites as well.

I imagine there are some very busy corporate lobbyists making the rounds in DC right now, although what their satellites need to be protected from at this point remains a mystery. It's not like Osama's in space. Or, maybe he is, but the Pentagon is just keeping it hush-hush.

Seriously, with the massive poverty in the US that was revealed to the world after Katrina, the fact that 40+ million people do not have health care while those with the big bucks are bathing in their Bush tax cuts while Rome burns, couldn't the administration find something more worthy to spend all of this star wars money on? Why do we have to keep asking them this question? I guess they think that perpetuating never-ending fear of absolutely everything in the heavens and on earth is a winning strategy - a strategy that America's children will be paying for for a very, very long time to come. If Republicans actually paid attention to the polls, they'd see how dead wrong that strategy has become.