 an hour! But we’re told the director of CAPTAIN AMERICA will show up any minute now and our lives will change.
Meanwhile in Hall H, Marvel gathered the casts of Captain America 2 and Guardians of the Galaxy and brought out Joss Whedon to reveal Marvel AVENGERS 2: THE AGE OF ULTRON for Summer 2015.
What, no Thanos? Or not yet?
Reports from hall H have people cheering, swooning and speaking in tongues over the goings on there as the likes of Frank Grillo and Colbie Smulders are brought out.
Update: Okay so we went a little stir crazy while waiting but eventually the stars and directors of Captain America 2: The Winter Soldier and Guardians of the Galaxy appeared and answered questions in a far more thoughtful and articulate manner than we were teasing about. We’ll have some more quotes in a bit but our favorite line was when GotG director James Gunn explained that Benecio del Toro had once told him “I was the first kid in my neighborhood to own an alligator,” which Gunn said was one of his “five favorite sentences ever.” As you do.
The voices for Rocket Raccoon and Groot were not revealed.
When will they release the Sapphire IJ 107, Heidi? WHEN?
This is hilarious. Any confirmed miracles yet? Amputated limbs growing back and so on?
Is Robert Redford there??
Doesn’t Nebula have hair?
Wonder what they’re doing with Thanos if he’s not the next Avengers villain. We get Ultron, but haven’t seen Hank Pym yet.
A few months ago at a bar, I told my friend my awesome idea of how to get Ultron into the Avengers movie without Hank Pym involved at all. I hope they do something vaguely close to my idea so I can hit them with a groundless, baseless lawsuit.
Is she actually supposed to be Moondragon?
Well, if AVENGERS A.I. #1 accomplished anything, it showed Whedon, et al. what to avoid in doing an A.I. story. An A.I. isn’t a free-floating energy being inside a network. It’s software, and if the software doesn’t have access to databases, it doesn’t know a damn thing.
Karen Gillian bald just makes her hotter.
No Hank Pym in Avengers 2? Maybe Ultron could be an AIM creation (which in the comics would be M.O.D.O.K.).
i was kinda hoping for thanos in the second flick and then ultron in the third movie where, by then, we would have a good amount of avengers (cap, thor, iron man, black widow, hawkeye, hulk, ant-man, quicksilver, scarlet witch, falcon, winter soldier, vision?, black panther?, doctor starnge?, luke cage?) taking on an army of ultrons. instead it looks like we’ll be getting a good amount of avengers taking on thanos and whatever army of henchmen he’ll have behind him. ’cause ya know if they don’t use every avenger to date in the big battle action scene of the third movie the fans will freak.
At first I thought Moondragon before the other reveal, but wishful think will ruin you.
I just re-read a big pile of Jim Starlin comics from the ’70s. I must have had Moondragon on the mind!Northrop Grumman is looking for an Associate Embedded Software Engineer for our location in Plymouth, MN.
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North Korea’s nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles have been making headlines again. There’s also been serious controversy over how the United States and other countries should react to that threat.
To that end, it might help to examine Israel’s experience in dealing with actual rocket attacks. Some of my research has explored the properties of its interceptor systems. Iran.
Israel has consequently developed a set of countermeasures that provide it with a layered defence:
Blockade
One way to guard against missiles is to prevent hostile countries from getting them. Trade sanctions and military blockades can assist this.
Israel restricts trade into Gaza for this reason. However, Hamas responds by smuggling rockets inside other shipments. It also bypasses the blockade by producing Qassam rockets locally.
International sanctions against North Korea have likewise had limited success, partly due to its relationship with China. North Korea has also made domestic weapons development a national priority.
Deterrence
We can try to discourage the use of missiles by threatening to retaliate with our own weapons. But success depends on the opposing leader’s goals. Some might risk or even welcome retaliation.
For example, Israel has deterred Hezbollah from firing rockets for 11 years. But Hamas has not been deterred, as it benefits politically from occasionally provoking Israel.
Deterrence is the default solution regarding North Korea, as it was during the Cold War. It may be what U.S. President Donald Trump meant by his “fire and fury” comments. If North Korea ever uses nuclear weapons, it will invite massive U.S. retaliation and likely end the regime’s rule.
Pre-emptive strikes
The direct military solution to missiles is to destroy them on the ground. This counterforce approach assumes the missiles can be located and effectively attacked. It also risks collateral damage against civilians and diplomatic repercussions with other countries.
Israel conducts clandestine airstrikes against selected Hezbollah missile shipments for this reason. It destroys rockets on a larger scale during its operations against Hamas. One challenge is the large number of rockets. Israel has destroyed thousands, but thousands more remain. Another problem is rockets being stored in civilian areas like schools. Collateral damage there is unavoidable.
Donald Trump’s “military options” presumably include pre-emptive strikes. There are “only” about 60 North Korean nuclear warheads. But the U.S. would not want to miss even one. They may be hard to locate in that highly secretive country. They also may be well-sheltered and difficult to destroy without causing heavy civilian losses.
Interception
Once missiles have launched, defenders may try to shoot them down. Such interceptions are difficult to achieve, but make spectacular videos.
Israel has developed several interceptor systems. Iron Dome intercepts short range rockets, David’s Sling handles medium range missiles and Arrow targets long range missiles.
Arrow claimed its first interception this year. Iron Dome has engaged hundreds of rockets since 2011, though with much debate about its effectiveness.
The U.S. also has several interceptor systems: Ground-Based Mid-Course Defense, Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, Aegis (Standard) Ballistic Missile Defense and Patriot. Patriot has limited combat experience, while the others have none. Their effectiveness against North Korean missiles is uncertain.
Even good interceptors aren’t perfect. Iron Dome cannot engage every incoming rocket, and sometimes it misses those it engages. Fortunately, the rockets have small warheads. The U.S. would likely face only a handful of North Korean nuclear warheads. But missing even one could be devastating.
How attackers try to avoid detection
There are also ways for attackers to avoid interception. The simplest is to overload the interceptors by firing many missiles at once. Hamas has been unable to do this against Iron Dome but Hezbollah has enough launchers to try.
North Korea may have too few nuclear missiles to overload U.S. systems. But it could succeed with its numerous conventional missiles..
An attacker could instead try shooting missiles at an interceptor system to destroy it. However, such counter-battery fire uses up valuable ammunition. Hamas artillery rockets are too inaccurate to make this trade-off profitable. Hezbollah could attempt it with guided missiles or armed drones. North Korea would not waste nuclear warheads against interceptor systems but might shoot conventional ones at them.
Civil defences
Finally, a country can reduce its missile casualties by preparing civil defences. These include warning systems, bomb shelters and emergency response units.
Israel’s warning system is called Red Color. Speakers, sirens and cell phone apps alert civilians of incoming rockets. The country has built concrete shelters in locations like playgrounds and bus stops, as well as in private homes. However, there is concern that attackers might someday use poison gas warheads to bypass these shelters.
The U.S. could revive its civil defence program, starting in Guam and Hawaii. The priority should be the warning systems. Shelter needs depend on the warheads. Even ordinary basements or concrete buildings would help somewhat against conventional explosive warheads. More sophisticated shelters and decontamination gear would be needed against nerve gas or nuclear warheads.
Complementary layers
Israel’s countermeasures act together to complement each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Collectively they may have prevented thousands of casualties and millions of dollars of damage.
To