What If Aliens Came To Save the Galaxy From Mankind? 534
astroengine writes with an amusing piece in Discovery. From the article: "In a study carried out by NASA and Pennsylvania State University scientists, several intelligent extraterrestrial encounter scenarios are examined. One of the scenarios is a sci-fi favorite: what if we encounter an alien race hellbent on destroying us? However, there's a twist. This isn't mindless thuggery on behalf of the aliens, and they're not killing us to get at our natural resources; they have a cause. They want to exterminate us for the greater good of the Milky Way."
Aliens have no free will (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:We're no danger to the Galaxy... (Score:4, Interesting)
Why the heck is it so popular nowadays for many humans to be so anti-human?
The goal of EVERY species on this planet is its continued survival, us included. Of course, not all species succeed.
WE are only species on the planet uniquely equipped to have even a chance of surviving the inevitable destruction of the Earth. Hell, we would undoubtedly save a few other species while we're at it.
I just don't get this "HUMANS BAD" crap that so many are spewing.
Golden path anyone???
Re:It's our own damn fault (Score:3, Interesting)
A lot of our foreign aid is actually homeland security driven, and is something promoted and voted for more by the conservative side of the congress.
Take the whole area around Columbia, for example. The DEA provides drug interdiction helicopters to destroy Cocaine crops. This gives Columbia whole squadrons of assault helicopters, and the people who fly them become some of Columbia's best trained and 'well-bloodied' troops from actual under fire experience. They get really advanced communications tech we don't normally export, just so cartels can't eavesdrop on their communications, and eventually they even get attack helicopters such as Apaches, to support the mission when the cartels start using rocket launchers. This makes all Columbia's neighbors wonder, "What happen if they uses all those shiny toys for something besides drug interdiction inside their own borders?"
But, the DEA can't afford to just buy more weapons for everybody, and it would look fishy buying them for countries that don't even produce much Cocaine, so funding gets added to various places in Central America's foreign aid budget, money that has attached stipulations that those countries buy certain US made weapons systems with it. Then the conservatives that wanted a bigger war on drugs and more profits for General Dynamics tell everyone that Foreign Aid is a liberal thing, without mentioning that this would mean programs such as the DEA and indeed the whole Military/Industrial Complex are Liberal plots. There are a dozen senators today who are to the right of Jesse Helms who regularly criticise foreign aid in public addresses, and would be appalled if the public really tried to cut back foreign aid enough to defund these special programs hidden in it