China's First Aircraft Carrier To Be Named After Admiral Who Conquered Taiwan

[Barrister]

It's kind of hilarious that they'd name it after a traitor who sold out their country to the northern barbarians who imposed colonial rule and imperialism on China.  It's like the Russians naming a carrier the Vlassov, or a USS Benedict Arnold.

I like the sound of that...
He did do a nice job at Valcour Bay, even though it was a loss.

The more likely name is HMCS Benedict Arnold.

[grumbler]

The more likely name is HMCS Benedict Arnold.

Genghis Khan is better-known than Benedict Arnold, and is just as Canadian.

[Ed Anger]

HMCS Poutine

[Grey Fox]

We name most of our boats after Indians name & artic explorers.

[Viking]

We name most of our boats after Indians name & artic explorers.

what, the HMCS "We had the third largest navy in the world for 15 minutes in 1945!!!!111oneoneoneoneoen" will not be comissioned along with the HMCS "We burned down Washington D.C.!!!!!111111oneoneoneone" for service in the RCMP (Rubber Duck Division)?

[Admiral Yi]

@ Puff: 

Just to set the record straight, were there actually any Canadian troops along on the Washington trip?  I always assumed it was just British regulars.

[Ed Anger]

@ Puff: 

Just to set the record straight, were there actually any Canadian troops along on the Washington trip?  I always assumed it was just British regulars.

I'd have to look at the OOB's, but if IIRC, there was some Canuck militia along from the ride.

[Grey Fox]

We name most of our boats after Indians name & artic explorers.

what, the HMCS "We had the third largest navy in the world for 15 minutes in 1945!!!!111oneoneoneoneoen" will not be comissioned along with the HMCS "We burned down Washington D.C.!!!!!111111oneoneoneone" for service in the RCMP (Rubber Duck Division)?

Name also have to be in both official language. That's just too much to ask for the side of a boat.

[Sahib]

It's kind of hilarious that they'd name it after a traitor who sold out their country to the northern barbarians who imposed colonial rule and imperialism on China.  It's like the Russians naming a carrier the Vlassov, or a USS Benedict Arnold.

Eh, Ming had clearly lost the Mandate of Heaven by then.

[grumbler]

Just to set the record straight, were there actually any Canadian troops along on the Washington trip?  I always assumed it was just British regulars.

I'd have to look at the OOB's, but if IIRC, there was some Canuck militia along from the ride.

I don't believe that this is true, and it would be most unusual for militia to be taken on an expedition like this.  There were presumably some soldiers in the British army who lived in Canucklestan before or after the war, but since there wasn't a "Canada" to possess troops at this time, there would have been "any Canadian troops" to go on the expedition.

[JonasSalk]

China has an aircraft carrier. Good for them. A couple of ballistic missiles and it's sunk.

[jimmy olsen]

Sweet pic

http://photoblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/14/9447273-satellite-spots-chinas-first-aircraft-carrier-at-sea

DigitalGlobe / AP

This satellite image provided by the the DigitalGlobe Analysis Center shows the Chinese aircraft carrier Shi Lang (Varyag) sailing in the Yellow Sea. The picture was acquired Dec. 8 by DigitalGlobe's QuickBird satellite.

Alan Boyle writes

A commercial satellite operator says it has captured a rare image of China's first aircraft carrier as it sailed through the Yellow Sea, after going through an exercise that's the 21st-century equivalent of finding a needle in a haystack.

DigitalGlobe said the aircraft carrier showed up on a cloud-filled picture snapped on Dec. 8 by its polar-orbiting QuickBird satellite from a height of 280 miles (450 kilometers). An analyst spotted the ship while checking the image on Tuesday, said Stephen Wood, the director of the company's analysis center.

"There is something that is always indispensable about having people involved," Wood told me. The ship was identified "using a combination of the satellite imagery plus open-source material on the Internet, and geography," he said, but "at the end of the day, it still comes down to a person."

Experts have been hoping for months to get a glimpse of the aircraft carrier at sea. The former Soviet Union started building the ship, originally known as the Varyag, but never finished it. After the Soviet breakup, the Varyag ended up in the hands of the Ukrainian government. The ship was auctioned off to the Chinese in 1998. Since then, the Varyag, which has reportedly been rechristened the Shi Lang, has been under refurbishment for sea service.

"This is a ship and a story that has had legs for many years," Wood said.

DigitalGlobe said this picture was taken during the carrier's second sea trial, approximately 62 miles (100 kilometers) south-southeast of the port of Dalian. Wood said the picture indicates that the ship is "moving at a decent rate of speed, which would be expected in the middle of the ocean." The U.S. military could no doubt glean more information about the Shi Lang's status, from QuickBird's pictures as well as from classified, higher-resolution imagery.
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China says the Shi Lang will be used for research and training, and the project is thought to be part of the country's strategy to expand its presence as a naval power. The Chinese military is expected to build more copies of the ship in coming years. In fact, sources told Reuters in July that a second aircraft carrier was under construction.

"China's next moves have to be watched carefully, or there eventually could be a negative impact on maritime safety in Asia," Yoshihiko Yamada, a professor at Japan's Tokai University, told Reuters at the time.

QuickBird's view of the Shi Lang serves as today's offering from the Cosmic Log Space Advent Calendar, which features an image of Earth from space every day from now until Christmas. Here are the past offerings in the series:

[mongers]

http://photoblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/14/9447273-satellite-spots-chinas-first-aircraft-carrier-at-sea

That doesn't so much seem to be an aircraft carrier as just a carrier. And since the only thing I can identify on the flight deck is something like a lorry or mobile crane, could you more accurately describe it as a car ferry ?   

[Monoriu]

It's kind of hilarious that they'd name it after a traitor who sold out their country to the northern barbarians who imposed colonial rule and imperialism on China.  It's like the Russians naming a carrier the Vlassov, or a USS Benedict Arnold.

Eh, Ming had clearly lost the Mandate of Heaven by then.

The Qing dynasty is not viewed as evil in Chinese history.  It is considered the rightful heir to Ming.  At the point when the Qing conquered Taiwan, the Ming were traitors that deserve to be destroyed. 

At any point in Chinese history, there is always a rightful faction that has the mandate of heaven.  All the others are bandits, thieves, usurpers, barbarians etc 

[mongers]

It's kind of hilarious that they'd name it after a traitor who sold out their country to the northern barbarians who imposed colonial rule and imperialism on China.  It's like the Russians naming a carrier the Vlassov, or a USS Benedict Arnold.

Eh, Ming had clearly lost the Mandate of Heaven by then.

The Qing dynasty is not viewed as evil in Chinese history.  It is considered the rightful heir to Ming.  At the point when the Qing conquered Taiwan, the Ming were traitors that deserve to be destroyed. 

At any point in Chinese history, there is always a rightful faction that has the mandate of heaven.  All the others are bandits, thieves, usurpers, barbarians etc 

Just as long as they don't screw up the Taiwanese bike industry I'm happy.