A reader, name withheld by request, writes "Writing in the IEEE Spectrum, James Oberg analyzes whether there was, in fact a significant risk to humans from the disciple which the US soldierly shot down on 21 February, purportedly 'to head off the occurrence of its splashing a half ton of toxic hydrazine fuel kicking around* on Earth.' past experts had 'scoffed' at the rationale put forth, pointing out that there was trivial fifty-fifty* that any meaningful amount of toxic fuel would make it to the ground intact. Oberg's analysis, titled 'the inside story,' purports to debunk this, and claims that indeed it's possible, and even likely, that there could be a danger to the ground. Unfortunately, the dissection is full of flaws and lack of rigor — indeed, lacking any sort of numerical reasoning. It seems to be too much repeating sanctioned 'spin,' and could have used a hefty dose of skepticism — and could also use a little bit of actual breakdown using numbers, rather than handwaving." Read on for the rest of an interesting breakdown of a topic that abruptly seems more complex.

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Mark