A Sunday Silly on a Friday? Or is it?
By now you’ve all seen or heard about the meteorite strike near the Ural Mountains.
If not:
Here’s a different view on the event:
Russian nationalist lawmaker Vladimir Zhirinovsky, long known for his flamboyance and outrageous remarks, said Friday that meteorite fragments had not rained down on Russia in the morning, but that the light flashes and tremors in several of the country’s regions resulted from US weapons tests.
Secretary of State John Kerry attempted to warn the the Russians it seems:
He also said US Secretary of State John Kerry had wanted to warn Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov about the “provocation” on Monday, but couldn’t reach him – a reference to US State Department comments earlier this week that Kerry had spent several days trying to speak to Lavrov by phone to discuss North Korea and Syria.
I think it was aliens testing us, however, the voices in my head tell me to share this version.
And I gotta wonder if the US SecState can’t reach the Russian Foreign Minister about this sort of thing, what good is he?
Aside: We here all know what Kerry is good for, but…
February 15th, 2013 at 2:59 pm
Must be bat $hit crazy Friday again…
February 15th, 2013 at 3:13 pm
The video and audio of that meteorite is awesome. I can see where someone may have thought it was some kind of weapon, at least at first.
February 15th, 2013 at 3:22 pm
I thought the meteor problem was related to global warming?
This guy needs to meet with Al Gore and exceed the quantum thresholds for stupid.
February 15th, 2013 at 3:23 pm
A lot of people shot videos of the meteor as it traveled and exploded. The noise must have been deafening if you were there in person for both explosions. They were enough to shatter windows and set off car alarms.
So what weapons does Zhirinovsky think we were testing? New popcorn poppers?
February 15th, 2013 at 3:29 pm
UK Guardian has a great short video of the event here.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2013/feb/15/meteorite-explodes-over-russian-urals-live-updates
The light “washout” and the door blown in are particularly impressive. I can see how it’s estimated to have been around 10 kilotons.
February 15th, 2013 at 3:35 pm
Hondo #5: Please go ahead and edit the post to include that link. Busy here, and assumed everyone had seen similar.
February 15th, 2013 at 3:40 pm
A kenetic energy weapon such as a planned meteor strike would be almost indistinguishable from an equivalent sized conventional explosives strike – kind oif like a nuke without the radiation. See Heinlein’s “The Moon is a Harsh Mistress”.
There is no difficulty understanding why Kerry was unable to get through…. he probably threw a message over the fence outside Lavrov’s office like he did his medals in the ’60s.
February 15th, 2013 at 3:40 pm
sorry, kinetic.
February 15th, 2013 at 3:45 pm
Zero: think I’ve figured out how to do that, but won’t be able to test it until this evening. (Can’t directly access the Guardian’s video server from my current location, though the one in their article works OK.)
February 15th, 2013 at 3:53 pm
Neil deGrasse Tyson (astrophysics) has said it was too small to be picked up on radar. The sound wave was created as the meteor struck the atmosphere, which is like hitting a brick wall, coming in from space. He also brought up a similar incident during US/USSR treaty negotiations, in which an airblast from a meteor raised alarms, with both sides thinking it was a pre-emptive strike.
“Preliminary indications are that it was a meteorite [shower],” the RIA-Novosti news agency quoted an emergency official as saying. “We have information about a blast at 10,000-meter (32,800-foot) altitude.”
The noise of the two explosions (there were two separate explosions) created a shockwave that broke windows, blew out doors, and set off car alarms. From what I see in those videos, the noise was deafening. So far, 985 people were injured by shattering glass. The roof of a factory collapse when the shock wave hit it.
The Tunguska blast in 1908 created a shock wave that knocked people off their own porches and was felt as far away as London, UK.
And, yes, there are more out in space just like this one, and bigger.
February 15th, 2013 at 4:05 pm
Hondo #9: Found something almost as good.
February 15th, 2013 at 4:33 pm
Silly Sunday? Batshit Friday?
No matter. God keeps His own schedule and doesn’t consult man for permission go have fun.
February 15th, 2013 at 4:48 pm
Meh. That FDC needs more practice.
February 15th, 2013 at 6:48 pm
@3
I thought the meteor problem was related to global warming?
Yeah, I heard something about that on CNN.
February 15th, 2013 at 6:53 pm
The wonder of it is, is that we don’t see more scenarios like this. Have you seen the space map that plots the orbits of just the larger meteorites that orbit near the Earth? It looks like a swarm of bees!
February 15th, 2013 at 7:03 pm
“Sergei, it’s for you.”
“Who is it?”
“John Kerry.”
“Who? Never mind. Just tell that asshole I’m not in.”
February 15th, 2013 at 7:15 pm
Warned my facebook friends this is the start of the Z-pocalypse.
February 15th, 2013 at 7:38 pm
My reaction to a call from the sKerry would be the same and I would want to go blast something as well.
February 15th, 2013 at 8:47 pm
I think it was an assault meteor that did all that damage.
We should ban meteors.
February 15th, 2013 at 9:34 pm
My opinion…the Lord showing his power.
As far as the Ruski ignoring Kerry… so much for Obamugabe’s and the Hildabeasts ” hitting the reset button” when it comes to dealing with the Russians.
Facts speak for themselves, they think Kerry is a Turd.
February 15th, 2013 at 9:51 pm
More like the Russkies KNOW that Kerry’s a snot-spined incompetent liberal turdski!
February 15th, 2013 at 10:18 pm
@20
I wish people would stop using that “reset button” B.S.
Hillary gave them an OVERCHARGE button… not a Reset button.
February 16th, 2013 at 12:26 am
I ought it was the manbearpig entering our atmosphere. Then at least al gore would’ve gotten something right.
February 16th, 2013 at 12:51 am
Did that space rock have “… a shoulder thing that went up”?
February 16th, 2013 at 1:30 am
@24
I think it had a bayonet lug.
February 16th, 2013 at 8:07 am
“He also said US Secretary of State John Kerry had wanted to warn Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov about the “provocation” on Monday, but couldn’t reach him – a reference to US State Department comments earlier this week that Kerry had spent several days trying to speak to Lavrov by phone to discuss North Korea and Syria.”
I wouldn’t want to talk to that military hating idiot either.
February 16th, 2013 at 5:16 pm
@20, “Facts speak for themselves, they think Kerry is a Turd”
No one ever said the Rooskys were poor judges of character.