it means trouble for George Bush's Ballistic Missile Defense System. On Christmas Eve 2004, the Russian Strategic Missile Force test fired an advanced SS-27 Topol-M road-mobile intercontinental ballistic Missile (ICBM). This test probably invalidated the entire premise and technology used in the National Missile Defense (NMD) system currently being developed and deployed by the Bush administration, and at the same time called into question the validity of the administration's entire approach to arms control and disarmament.

the Bush administration's dream of a viable NMD has been rendered fantasy by the Russian test of the SS-27 Topol-M. According to the Russians, the Topol-M has high-speed solid-fuel boosters that rapidly lift the missile into the atmosphere, making boost-phase interception impossible unless one is located practically next door to the launcher. The SS-27 has been hardened against laser weapons and has a highly maneuverable post-boost vehicle that can defeat any intercept capability as it dispenses up to three warheads and four sophisticated decoys.

To counter the SS-27 threat, the US will need to start from scratch. And even if a viable defense could be mustered, by that time the Russians may have fielded an even more sophisticated missile, remaining one step ahead of any US countermeasures. The US cannot afford to spend billions of dollars on a missile-defense system that will never achieve the level of defense envisioned.

The Bush administration's embrace of technology, and rejection of diplomacy, when it comes to arms control has failed. If America continues down the current path of trying to field a viable missile-defense system, significant cuts will need to be made in other areas of the defense budget, or funds reallocated from other nonmilitary spending programs. With America already engaged in a costly war in Iraq, and with the possibility of additional conflict with Iran, Syria, or North Korea looming on the horizon, funding a missile-defense system that not only does not work as designed, but even if it did, would not be capable of defending America from threats such as the Topol-M missile, makes no sense.

The Bush administration would do well to reconsider its commitment to a national missile-defense system, and instead reengage in the kind of treaty-based diplomacy that in the past produced arms control results that were both real and lasting. This would not only save billions, it would make America, and the world, a safer place. Has anyone mentioned this to Paul Martin?

Posted by pogge at 12:05 AM | Comments (25) | TrackBack challenging the Ohio electoral votes. She didn't get much in the way of support, though. Democratic leaders distanced themselves from the effort, which many in the party worried would make them look like sore losers.

The Senate session lasted just over an hour and ended when the chamber voted 74-1 to uphold Ohio's votes. Boxer was the lone vote. Somehow I don't think the Democrats quite have the hang of this official opposition thing.

I understand that they weren't going to win but right now winning isn't the point. The point is to provide an obvious and highly visible alternative to this: "There's a wise saying we've used in Florida the past four years that the other side would be wise to learn: Get over it," said Rep. It was entirely predictable that some GOP hack would say that.

In fact I predicted it. And by leaving Boxer hanging by herself, the Democratic senators denied themselves the opportunity to go on the record as saying that "get over it" isn't the proper response to voters when there's any question about their votes being counted and an election being conducted fairly. We're talking about one of the most fundamental processes in democracy.

The GOP are sneering at the idea that serious problems should be investigated and the Democrats just let them get away with it. Posted by pogge at 10:01 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack Daily Kos, with some of the Kossacks insisting that Dems should challenge the election results at every step while others feared that too many of the issues being raised amounted to conspiracy theories that undermined the credibility of those raising them. But this post, which went up earlier today, seems to signal a change in heart for some in the latter camp.

It summarizes some of the more blatant problems involving Ohio Secretary of State (and Republican) Kenneth Blackwell and makes a pretty compelling case that Blackwell's behaviour should be closely investigated. The post amounts to a call to arms for Democratic senators to join with Conyers and the other congressional representatives who intend to challenge the results. At this point there are few, if any, who believe that the outcome of the election will change.

But as Hunter, the author of the post, writes: we should expect and encourage, on the floor of Congress, a debate and a reinforcement of the basic belief that, of all our American institutions, the conduct of free and fair elections is among the most sacred, and that to act in such a way as to erode the basic fairness of those elections is to act against the interests, and against the ideals, of America. Works for me. A week after the election I wrote that restoring the faith of Americans in their own electoral process was badly needed and that it be a partisan matter.

But with the GOP in control of both houses and the Oval Office, it is If an obviously flawed electoral system is to be reformed, it seems to me that it's up to the Democrats to push the issue in as public a way as they can. Tomorrow could be an interesting day in DC. Apparently she will.

California Senator Barbara Boxer is planning to stand up and join House democrats in their requests for an investigation into the Ohio presidential vote. Certification of the vote takes place today in the Senate and due to Sen. Boxer's objection, a two hour debate will take place regarding Ohio election irregularities.

Many may recall the scene in January of 2001 in which the members of the Congressional Black Caucus were chastised on the floor of the Senate when they attempted to contest the Florida vote. Ironically, Vice President Gore in his role as President of the Senate had to reject their requests personally. The scene was made popular when included in Michael Moore's documentary, Fahrenheit 9/11.

Today history will record a different story as those same members, led by Michigan Congressman John Conyers will be heard due to the action of Barbara Boxer and possibly other Senate democrats. It will be interesting now to see how the press covers this. Posted by pogge at 11:38 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack leaving his post in March of this year to enter the private sector.

If I said he'll be sadly missed, I'd be lying through my teeth. Hopefully his replacement will understand that the role of an ambassador is to represent his own country, and not to tell us how to run ours. Hey, I can dream, can't I?

I'll take you up on that beer, mahigan. Or an orange brandy. Or a rum, rye, scotch or whatever else is lying around.

On an occasion like this I'm not gonna be fussy. Posted by pogge at 12:48 PM | Comments (10) | TrackBack now up and I intend to read them all, or at least scan them all, and then try to summarize the whole batch in a post. I've already indicated my own opinion: the RCMP shouldn't be in the intelligence business.

I'll be interested to see what the commission has to say. Both of those pieces will require some additional research and some time to put together. Meanwhile, I hope you'll see at least some short posts pointing to interesting stories either in the media or elsewhere in the 'sphere.

There's a rumour that my feline friends are being a bit difficult. Something about going on strike for more luxurious litter boxes and flakier tuna. We'll have to see how that plays out.

My marketing consultant had suggested I switch to tree blogging since trees are much easier to get along with and you generally know where they're going to be when you're ready to snap the pic. I'll get back to you on that. Posted by pogge at 11:03 PM | TrackBack an interesting comparison between the dot-coms that went bust and blogs, which are flourishing.

Steve is pretty well-placed to make this kind of analysis. One of the major draws at the now-defunct NetSlaves was Steve's analysis of the foibles of the dot-com era. Now he's a full-time blogger and suggests what blogs have that the early efforts at content-based websites missed.

People read a blog either because it challenges them or says things they agree with. They don't read it because it mimics the local paper. Blogs are the opposite of cool.

Even Wonkette, who pretends to be a drunken gossip, cares. The stories she runs are not random and not just about what is hip. If anything, blogs are the anti-hip.

Because that is what drives Viacom. The hip, the cool, the new. The Daily Show is a hit because it is done by people who cares what happens, a Viacom exception.

And this isn't a virtue of lefty blogs either. In this, no one is too cool for the room. No one cared about dotcoms, it was all about money in the end.

It was a mercenary mentality and got mercenary result. Blogs are a rejection of that and about the work of people who care and who think ideas matter. That it isn't just about who gets rich first.

If there is any success to blogs, it is because it has made the content on the computer human. It's an interesting read. Posted by pogge at 12:07 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack If you click on the image just above, it will take you to a page where you can vote for your favorite Canadian blogs in eight categories.

I'm more than a little slow drawing your attention to this. Voting began on Jan. But it's not too late to get in on the fun.

You can vote once a day, every day, between now and the 15th. Thanks should go out to Robert McClelland at My Blahg for running this. The real value of something like this is the exposure it brings to blogs that you might not otherwise know about.

The list of blogs on the voting page also serves as a list of links. There's lots of good stuff out there and more surfacing all the time. If you're like me, you'll find the Best New Blog to be the hardest category to deal with.

Posted by pogge at 09:57 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack it means trouble for George Bush's Ballistic Missile Defense System.