continuing proofs America is wacko [2]

I heard about the Thanksgiving Black Friday crap recently. It's ridiculous. Normally I make a point of staying at home all day on Black Friday. I have to work this year since I'm in retail, but at least I don't have to buy anything.

halfwise wrote:Why did I create this thread in the Big Bad Serious Forum?   It should be in Off Topic.

But America fits the phrase "big, bad, and serious" better than practically any other topic here.

wait.....people take us serious????? 

Unfortunately, both for us and for them.

   
 

You kind of have to take slightly seriously a large group of, quirky*, folks armed to the teeth with nukes.


*its really hard to find a friendly sounding replacement for nutjobs  

 

I cant work out if this a joke or if its not, and if it isnt April 1st then thats evem more worrying.

America, not content with spying on everyone via communications and internet "launched a new spy satellite Thursday evening on mission NROL-39.
The NROL-39 mission was classified, as are nearly all missions and satellites launched by the secretive NRO. It was carried aloft by a United Launch Alliance rocket from the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California at 11:13 p.m. PST, according to NASAspaceflight.com. Because the launch trajectory matched that used by other launches, it was likely carrying a third satellite for the agency’s radar reconnaissance fleet, the site said."

So radar is probably the last thing it will doing! But thats not the worry, the worry is their logo for it-



Yup it a giant suckered octopus with the entire world encased in its grasp and the motto- 'Nothing is beyond our reach.'

It looks like it was designed as the logo for SPECTRE - America the Bond Villain of the world!   

Why do I feel so smug?

Im sure that should be ashamed, or at least embarrassed Halfy   It looks like it was designed to be the bad guys badge in a Saturday morning kids cartoon.

Pettytyrant101 wrote:Im sure that should be ashamed, or at least embarrassed Halfy   It looks like it was designed to be the bad guys badge in a Saturday morning kids cartoon.

Do you really want the rulers of the world to be completely devoid of humor or self-awareness?

It's not like spy satellites are a new thing, either.

Its not the satellite that seems bothersome to me, its the logo, and the motto combined- and I did say I couldnt work out if it was meant as a joke or not. I hope it is, but fear it isn't.

What do you think it means if it's not a joke? Is the National Reconnaissance Office (that's what NRO stands for ) actually a front for the cult of Cthulhu?

What do you think it means if it's not a joke? - Eldo

Well if its not a joke it would appear to mean the US spying agencies see themselves in this fashion (there is nothing I can find anywhere in the news reports on it incidentally even hinting that its meant to be a joke)

Their job is to collect massive amounts of information about people all over the world.  The White House and Pentagon PR departments try to downplay this but the fact remains that this is the goal these agencies were established for. The point of spy satellites is that they can photograph any location on Earth while being immune to anti-aircraft fire and other weapons.

I have moral and legal issues with the surveillance state, but an octopus logo is not one of them.

Heres the official reasoning-

“NROL-39 is represented by the octopus, a versatile, adaptable, and highly intelligent creature. Emblematically, enemies of the United States can be reached no matter where they choose to hide,” says Karen Furgerson, a spokesperson for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). “‘Nothing is beyond our reach’ defines this mission and the value it brings to our nation and the warfighters it supports, who serve valiently all over the globe, protecting our nation.”

I dont think they are joking.....


You arent bothered that your secret government surveillance departments dont even seem to notice that they have come up with a badge that makes them look and sound like the worlds no1 villain? Does that not ring alarm bells about how they see themselves?
Or that seems to other nations both hugely boastful as well as threatening?

I highly doubt that no one realized that the imagery of an octopus in the logo would be off-putting to people.  So either the agency didn't care (a very real possibility; and since when has the US not been boastful?) or it was the idea of someone with a rather dark sense of humor.

I agree its deliberate all right. I think the US is of the mind that this is the information age and he who controls all the information controls the world- and they are making a statement that they plan on that being them.

Personally I find the prospect of an escalating information war waged by governments to be quite a terrifying prospect.

You think the US "plans" on being the ones to control the world? Wake up and smell the freedom.

I'll pass, your brand of Freedom smells a bit off at the moment.

I'm afraid that wasn't a request.

Thats what I feared   

Seriously though, the US has been acting like it owns the world (or at least substantial portions of it) since the 19th century. An octopus logo really doesn't bother me compared to our track record of injustices.

Every country commits atrocities in the name of national security- its when they start openly boasting about it and not even trying to hide it you have to worry I think.