Meteorite wrecks houses in India

[Emperor_Norton_II]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3146692.stm

At least 20 people are reported to have been injured after a meteorite crashed to Earth in eastern India.

Reports say hundreds of people in the state of Orissa panicked when the fireball streamed across the sky.

Burning fragments were said to have fallen over a wide area, destroying several houses.

An official in Orissa said the authorities were assessing the damage and trying to recover what was left of the meteor.

Reports from Orissa said windows rattled as the meteor passed overhead.

"It was all there for just a few seconds but it was like daylight everywhere," one resident said.
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But, y'know, stuff like this doesn't mean we should be watching out for things falling from the sky, right? That's just alarmism and pro-militarist PNAC thinking, right?

[cliss]

1. Poor guys.

The Hindus have a tendency to be slightly superstitious. A rare event like this would probably shake up a few hindus. A comet is seen as a bad omen, anyway.

There was a terrible earthquake a few years ago, I think in Gujarat. Lots of people died from the tremors, and local priests declared that 'sins as black as mascara caused this holocaust'.

[Maple]

2. I hope someone

has enough sense to grab some fragments and preserve them.

[catmandu57]

3. Those poor sons of bitches

Trains derail, busses, go off roads, typhoons, earthquakes, maybe nuclear war in their future, now getting hit from space.

[bigtime]

4. clinton's fault

it is well known that he was soft on meteors

[Exultant Democracy]

7. I knew he was behind it.

[Book Lover]

5. Indian news links

The only Orissa newspaper I could find with a story is here: http://www.pragativadi.com/ You 'll have to follow the link off the main page: my browser did not provide a distinct URL when I clicked through to the story. I would also try http://www.orissatv.com/ in a little while...

[grasswire]

6. worth a lot of money

meteor fragments could bring them a lot of money. Hallooo eBay!

[soothsayer]

8. I think it's technically a meteorite once it hits the ground

It's the picky editor in me.

[catzies]

9. Definitely a meteorite and not space junk?

I'd hate to think one of the many pieces of litter we have in orbit coiuld come crashing down anywhere at any time.

[Resistance Is Futile]

10. Not space junk

Most of the junk up there is way too small to make much of an impact on the ground. This would have had to be a natural object.

Asteroid defense is another of those big issues that governments need to be dealing with sooner rather than later. It's only a matter of time until Earth gets hit by something large enough to wipe out a city, a continent, or all of humanity. Dealing with the risk is more important than making sure that Haliburton gets their 'rightful' cut or passing a constitutional ammendment to ban flag burning or any of the other deeply important policy points everyone seems so interested in pursuing these days.

[zonmoy]

11. hopefully

this is a forerunner of a planetkiller asteroid to put the human species out of their misery.

[Resistance Is Futile]

13. Seconded

A big nickle-iron rock is just what humanity needs right now.

Hopefully the cockroaches will do a better job of running a civilization than we have.

[Supply Side Jesus]

12. These terror attacks from space must not stand!

It's time for our great and wonderful leaders at Hallibutron to get a contract to save us from these space threats that obviously hate us for our sustainable biosphere!

[MariMayans]

14. I grok the sarcasm

however cynicism about a unilateral US platform for hurling explosives at things from orbit is quite understandable.

I would think your efforts would be better served by demanding an international coalition to control such a program than by being condescending toward people who are awake enough to understand the implications and the not-so-secret plan of US "full spectrum dominance".

[Supply Side Jesus]

16. You think you grok...

but you dont fully grok.
water?

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

15. Now htere's something you don't see every day. Pass the curried rice.