Killer asteroids have *always* been a fact of life for planet earth, and have become a recurring cult story on the news as we've improved ways of identifying them. Probabiliites are usually infinitesimally low that they ever make impact (obviously, or else we wouldn't be here).

I saw that the CS Monitor story when it first ran, and have read several pieces before it. And all say deflecting technologies are certainly achievable, especially given the 25 year advance notice on this particular bugger. Real life is not about Bruce Willis grabbing his gear on a week's notice.

Venomous Kate ignores those points in the CS Monitor piece, of course, as do most media outlets who report this recurring story.

The upshot of all this: Another reason why we need to keep NASA funding alive. The Shuttle era may be over, but its not the first time NASA morphed from one era to the next. Instead of winning the space race, NASA has a key role in keeping our planet safe, too.

And I bet its always been part of a lot of their "classified" tests that we never hear about. After all, they are "rocket scientists."