It’s not even a close call.
The Crew On Artemis II
Bob Zimmerman says to take them off the flight.
NASA would never allow SpaceX to do something like this.
But it’s a tremendous waste of money either way.
[Friday-afternoon update]
Eric Berger reports on a meeting at NASA to discuss the issue. Jared owns it now.
[Bumped]
[Midnight update]
Charlie Camarda responds.
2026 In Space
Stephen Clark has a round up of both domestic and international planned activities, with probability estimates.
Stop Using Mercator Projection
Why Greenland is important.
Greenland – As viewed from a proper map
— Object Zero (@Object_Zero_) January 6, 2026
Why Greenland? Well because Moscow bases almost all of their strategic military assets on the Kola Peninsula next to Finland. This is where the Russian ICBM silos, submarine bases, and their strategic bombers are.
If you look at the… pic.twitter.com/z6qECCJ3u5
I’m pretty sure that Copenhagen is not capable of defending it.
[Update a while later]
I can't believe this needs to be explained but:
— Robert Anderson (@ProfRobAnderson) January 6, 2026
1. The US is not going to attack Denmark.
2. The bluster from Trump is to give encouragement to Greenlanders for a vote of independence, and a warning to Denmark not to ignore the results of such a vote.
3. Once the vote for…
[Thursday-morning update]
The unfortunate Greenland kerfuffle.
[Bumped]
Minnesota
A political culture full of arsonists.
It should be a cautionary tale. I hope it will be.
High- Versus Low-Trust Societies
Why who we allow to immigrate into the country matters:
When I first came to the U.S. to finish school, a professor told us to take an exam at home and simply said, “Don’t use Google or open your books.”
— Dan Burmawi (@DanBurmawy) January 6, 2026
As someone who grew up in the Middle East, I couldn’t believe it. What kind of society trusts people like that?
But over time, I…
Happy New Year
This would appear to be both a message to Maduro, and the Mullahs… https://t.co/HyTmYyNY6f
— Not-So-OK Boomer (@Rand_Simberg) January 3, 2026
[Saturday-afternoon update]
Eclectic food for thought, from Blake Powers.
[Monday-morning update]
Trump, Maduro, and what’s next?
I just hope they have a better plan than Bush and Cheney did after removing Saddam. It wouldn’t be hard.
[Tuesday-morning update]
How snatching Maduro screws up everyone else’s plans.
This is the most assertive foreign policy against evil since Reagan. Dubya thought he was fighting the “axis of evil,” but he was far too soft on Islam.
[Bumped]
[Update a few minutes later]
The argument going around the Internet is that Cuba, Venezuela and probably Iran soon are no threat because they have completely collapsed with no power, no food, no water. Hence any actions against them are pure cruelty. If anything the rich capitalists should bail them out.…
— wretchardthecat (@wretchardthecat) January 6, 2026
Lileks
…is (finally) throwing in the towel on Minnesota, after living there most of his life.
Islamism
It’s time for zero tolerance for it.
What To Watch For In Space This Year
Phil Metzger’s top 20:
🧵 1/ Here are the 20 things I’m watching in 2026 as potential disruptors of the space industry (positive & negative). They include things outside the space industry that may have oversized impact inside the space industry.
— Phil Metzger (@DrPhiltill) January 1, 2026
First item on the list:
1. Declining launch costs and… pic.twitter.com/2RtFM68Psu