CALIFORNIA YANKEE

China to launch third manned space flight

China's next manned space is scheduled to launch today.

The Shenzhou VII spacecraft, with three astronauts, will lift off some time between 9:07 a.m. to 10:27 a.m. ET.

This mission, only China's third manned space flight since it became the third space faring nation in October 2003, will feature China's first space walk.

Image: The Shenzhou-VII spacecraft, the Long-March II-F rocket and the escape tower are transferred to the launch pad at Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, in Gansu province, September 20, 2008. Credit:REUTERS/Stringer

McCain Meets With Dalai Lama

Senator McCain met with the Dalai Lama and urged China to address human rights concerns and free Tibetan prisoners:

"I urge the Chinese leaders to engage in talks and make progress with his Holiness' representatives in addressing the just grievances of the Tibetan people," McCain said, with the Dalai Lama at his side.

"I urge the Chinese government to release Tibetan political prisoners, account for Tibetans that have 'disappeared' since the protests in March, and engage in meaningful dialogue and genuine autonomy for Tibet."

The exiled Tibetan leader said McCain had shown "genuine concern" for human rights, democracy and environmental concerns with regards to China.

Senator McCain's meeting with the Dalai Lama demonstrates sympathy for critics of the Chinese regime at a time when the world's attention is focused on the country for the Olympics.

The Dalai Lama has become a symbol of the struggle for Tibetan autonomy and political and human rights in China.

China's government strongly objects to foreign leaders meeting with the Dalai Lama. McCain's visit with the Dali Lama draws another distinction between himself and the president, who's going to the Olympics.

China To Raise 2008 Military Budget By Record 19.4%

Does anyone believe that a record 19.4% increase in Chinese defense spending "will not pose a threat to other countries?"

Maybe it costs a lot more to protect the Olympics these days.

Pollution Turns Chinese River Red

Pollution has turned branches of at least three tributaries of the Han river -- a branch of the Yangtz -- red:

The Xinglong, Tianguan and Dongjing rivers were all affected by the pollution, according to the state news agency Xinhua.

A chemical spill is thought be the cause, but the source has not yet been identified and an investigation has been launched.

Gao Qijin, a water company official in Xinguo, Jianli County, told Xinhua that the water in the Dongjing river had become red with large amounts of bubbles.

The pollution has also contaminated water supplies for about 200,000 people in central China.

Meanwhile, Beijing is diverting water north for the Olympics, which means that in China's arid north, provinces already experiencing water shortages could be pushed deeper into crisis threatening the livelihoods of millions of people.

China’s Three Gorges Dam Worsens Pollution

China’s Environmental Protection Administration admits that the Three Gorges Dam is worsening water quality in several branches of the Yangtze River that drain into the dam's main reservoir.

When the dam was completed, environmentalists warned that the reservoir behind the dam would likely get more polluted.

Spielberg Quits Olympics Over China's Darfur Policy

After months of criticism, Steven Spielberg has withdrawn from his role as an artistic adviser to the opening and closing ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics, because of China's connection to the government in Sudan and the controversy over Darfur:

"I find that my conscience will not allow me to continue business as usual," Spielberg said in a statement issued on a day when Nobel Peace laureates sent a letter to China's president urging a change in policies toward its ally Sudan.

"At this point, my time and energy must be spent not on Olympic ceremonies, but on doing all I can to help bring an end to the unspeakable crimes against humanity that continue to be committed in Darfur," he added.

[. . .]

In his statement on Tuesday, Spielberg said Sudan's government shouldered the bulk of responsibility for "these ongoing crimes" in Darfur but said China "should be doing more to end the continuing human suffering there."

China is accused of providing diplomatic cover for Sudan's government as it stonewalls international efforts to send peace keepers into Darfur. China is also a leading oil customer and supplier of weapons to Sudan.

China Will Lose A Space War

A year ago, China attacked and destroyed an aging weather satellite in orbit. Debris from the Chinese anti-satellite missile test continues to threaten more than 800 operating satellites and will do so for up to 100 years.

At Wired Magazine's Danger Room blog, Noah Shachtman posts a three-part analysis by Geoffrey Forden about the possibility of Chinese anti-satellite capabilities:

Let's start with what we know about China's ASAT capabilities today. And we know quite a bit. Because there are few, if any, secrets in space. Amateurs around the world track most, if not all, of the classified US military satellites from their backyards, posting their positions on the internet. NORAD,is capable of tracking objects as small as four inches across. In fact, NORAD's measurements of the debris caused by China’s January 2007 test were posted on the web. In the case of the Chinese test, the orbital tracks of that debris can be used to reveal the capabilities and limitations of China’s ASAT weapon by reconstructing the collision -- much like forensic scientists reconstruct a crime scene. By backtracking the debris to the point where they all converge, we can determine the two most important aspects of the Chinese ASAT: how China destroyed that satellite, and just how capable its satellite-killer really is.

The interception was almost head on at a combined speed of almost 18,000 miles per hour. The pieces of debris wound up with the greatest speeds—much higher than the original satellite. This means that China accomplished the most sophisticated of space maneuvers: a hit-to-kill interception, the equivalent of hitting a bullet with a bullet. This is equivalent to what the US is trying to develop in its national missile defense system and is much more sophisticated than the ASAT the Soviet Union was working in the 1980s: little more than a space mine that slowly snuck up on its target and detonated near by.

We also know that the ASAT was highly maneuverable. Yes, the target satellite’s orbit was known well ahead of the interception. However, that does not mean that the satellite’s position was known well enough that the ASAT did not need to steer itself to hit the target. In fact, it is very likely that the interceptor needed to maneuver at high speeds, perhaps as much as six times the acceleration of gravity, to hit its target.

The orbital speed of the target satellite, which is determined by its altitude, also provides us with significant insight into the interceptor’s capability. The closing speed of the interception, which is a combination of the target satellite’s orbital speed and the speed of the interceptor, determines how much time is available to make final adjustments. For instance, just one second before the collision on January 11th, the interceptor and target were five miles apart. During that one second, the interceptor had to make any final adjustments to its trajectory to hit a target smaller than six feet across. Any decrease in the closing speed makes the attack that much easier. Since orbital speeds decrease with increasing altitudes, the Chinese interceptor would find it considerably easier to hit a target in higher orbit.

Finally, the interceptor needed to track its target, so that it could determine where it should move to place itself in front of the obsolete weather satellite; we have a good sense of how that was done, too. The most likely method it employed to track the oncoming satellite was an on-board telescope using visible light. Locking onto a target this way -- as opposed to focusing on the infrared light emitted by the heat of the target, the way the US missile defense interceptor does -- imposes significant limitations on the system. In particular, until it develops a far-infrared capability, which is probably decades away, its ASAT will be forced to attack satellites while they are in bright sunlight.

Dr. Forden is optimistic that China would lose a space war with the U.S., at least for the foreseeable future.

China Ruins Thanksgiving

China suddenly and inexplicably blocked a four-day visit by the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk and its strike group, despite prior approval and weeks of planning, ruining Thanksgiving for thousands of sailors and their families:

The 8,000-member crew was due in Hong Kong on Wednesday for a four-day visit to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday.

Some were planning to join family members who had flown in from the United States, Japan and the Philippines. While the ships were nearby in the South China Sea, the Chinese Foreign Ministry issued a “last-minute” refusal of the port call, the State Department said.

China reversed the decision to refuse entry to the Kitty Hawk Thursday and said that the visit could go ahead "based on humanitarian considerations," but only after the Kitty Hawk headed for its home port, the missing families who had flown to Hong Kong to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday.

Hong Kong has long been a favored port of call for the U.S. Navy. In the 10 years since Britain handed the former colony back to China U.S. Navy ships have occasionally been barred from Hong Kong when relations are strained. So why the slap at the Kitty Hawk, its sailors and families?

The Associated Press suggests it could be disagreement over or Congress's recognition the Dalai Lama:

In recent weeks, ties have been strained over disputes on trade and 's nuclear program as well as Congress's awarding a medal to the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader whom China's Communist government considers an enemy.

The Los Angeles Times reports China's abrupt action could relate to displeasure over an upgrade to Taiwan's Patriot II antimissile shield; a desire to send a message before an imminent Hong Kong election; and U.S. criticism over Chinese espionage activities.

The cancellation of the Kitty Hawk’s visit was not only a disappointment to U.S. sailors and their families.
Foreign servicemen and women, mainly from American ships, spend tens of millions of dollars in the city.

Pelosi Screws It Up

Even the Philadelphia Inquirer says "Pelosi was nuts to visit with Assad."

The Imperial Speaker was warned by the White House:

"We don't think it's a good idea," said White House spokeswoman Dana Perino. "This is a country [Syria] that is a state sponsor of terror, one that is trying to disrupt the Siniora government in Lebanon and one that is allowing foreign fighters to flow into Iraq from its borders."

[. . .]

"I'm not sure what she's hoping to accomplish there, I know that Assad probably really loves people to come and have a photo opportunity and have tea with him and have discussions about where they're coming from," Perino said, referring to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

"But we do think it's a really bad idea," she said.

The State Department also warned that Damascus typically used such visits as proof to the rest of the world that nothing was wrong with its policies.

Yesterday the New York Sun reported that Pelosi, helped Syria to escape diplomatic isolation:

"We were very pleased with the reassurances we received from" Mr. Assad "that he was ready to resume the peace process," Ms. Pelosi said yesterday after meeting Mr. Assad. "He was ready to engage in negotiations [for] peace with Israel."

After meeting with Assad, Pelosi said the meeting "enabled us to communicate a message from Prime Minister Olmert that Israel was ready to engage in peace talks as well."

Unfortunately, that is where Pelosi screwed it up. Olmert "clarified" there was no such message for Pelosi to communication to Assad:

Although Israel is interested in peace with Syria, that country continues to be part of the axis of evil and a force that encourages terror in the entire Middle East. What was communicated to the U.S. House speaker does not contain any change in the policies of Israel, as was communicated to other foreign leaders.

For "serious and genuine" negotiations to begin, Mr. Olmert added, "Syria must cease its support of terror, cease its sponsoring of the Hamas and Islamic Jihad organizations, refrain from providing weapons to Hezbollah and bringing about the destabilizing of Lebanon, cease its support of terror in Iraq, and relinquish the strategic ties it is building with the extremist regime in ."

According to United Press International, Pelosi, said she had gone to Syria "in friendship, hope, and determined that the road to Damascus is a road to (Middle East) peace." Too bad Pelosi hasn't noticed, as pointed out by National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe, that road is lined with the victims of Hamas and Hezbollah, victims of terrorists who cross from Syria into Iraq, victims in Lebanon trying to fight for democracy there, and victims in Syria trying for freedom and democracy.

At RedState, RS Insider notes that the Democrats are feeling the heat from the Imperial Speaker's screw up and are mounting a feeble attempt to compare Pelosi's meeting with terrorists' supporters as the equivalent to Speaker Gingrich visiting China in 1997.

MLB Plans Office In China

Major League Baseball plans to open office in China within a month to help promote the game among the 1.3 billion Chinese.

Bob DuPuy, baseball's chief operating officer, said there are plans to open a regular season in Beijing, probably prior to the 2008 Olympics:

"Nothing has been discussed or formulated yet," he said in an e-mail to The Associated Press. "It depends upon facility preparedness, sponsor availability, government (China) support, industry (club) support, MLBPA support, television interest and a lot of things falling into place."

Half a century after Chairman Mao banned baseball in China, calling it a bourgeois indulgence of the rich, we could have another billion baseball fans to help complain about America's pastime.