Our current threat environment, coupled with the abysmal performance of international institutions, cries out for a re-thinking all these multi-lateral commitments. Negroponte and England’s claim that we need to ratify LOST in order to demonstrate our commitment to “the rule of law” is absurd. The American people, who do more for the people of the world than any nation in history, have a rule of law; it is known as the Constitution. It allows us to make agreements as needed with nations based on our mutual interests (and it is worth noting that most of the benefits under LOST are already honored under other treaties and international law
Our current threat environment, coupled with the abysmal performance of international institutions, cries out for a re-thinking all these multi-lateral commitments. Negroponte and England’s claim that we need to ratify LOST in order to demonstrate our commitment to “the rule of law” is absurd. The American people, who do more for the people of the world than any nation in history, have a rule of law; it is known as the Constitution. It allows us to make agreements as needed with nations based on our mutual interests (and it is worth noting that most of the benefits under LOST are already honored under other treaties and international law
In light of the latest assembly mission to the ISS, Clark Lindsey points out one of the many absurdities with the ESAS approach:
I’ve noted before that I find it odd that a fundamental goal of the Constellation project design is to minimize in-space assembly. This is a task in which NASA has actually become quite good. If NASA went to the next stage and combined its in-space operations capabilities with fuel depots and a space tug, it would have the tools and skill sets to do some amazing stuff, especially if it worked in close cooperation with private ventures like Bigelow.
Unfortunately, as with building Ares 1/5 instead of using existing (e.g. EELV) or nearly ready vehicles (e.g. Falcon 9, K-1), the aim seems to be to time warp back to 1972 and continue on to Apollo II, ignoring much of what was learned and developed subsequently.
It’s been twenty years since Ronald Reagan stood by the Brandenburg Gate and demanded the beginning of the liberation of eastern Europe. Only two and a half years later, the wall came down. I remember listening to radio reports about it, and for one of the few times in my life, I had a very real sense of history being made.
[Update in the afternoon]
Apparently, it was neither the first, or the last time that Reagan called for the wall to come down. It was almost a lifetime habit, right up until it actually fell.
It’s been twenty years since Ronald Reagan stood by the Brandenburg Gate and demanded the beginning of the liberation of eastern Europe. Only two and a half years later, the wall came down. I remember listening to radio reports about it, and for one of the few times in my life, I had a very real sense of history being made.
[Update in the afternoon]
Apparently, it was neither the first, or the last time that Reagan called for the wall to come down. It was almost a lifetime habit, right up until it actually fell.
It’s been twenty years since Ronald Reagan stood by the Brandenburg Gate and demanded the beginning of the liberation of eastern Europe. Only two and a half years later, the wall came down. I remember listening to radio reports about it, and for one of the few times in my life, I had a very real sense of history being made.
[Update in the afternoon]
Apparently, it was neither the first, or the last time that Reagan called for the wall to come down. It was almost a lifetime habit, right up until it actually fell.
Now that it’s officially hurricane season, we’ve been thinking about investing in a generator. But this backup battery looks like it might be an interesting solution. It’s also got a fifteen hundred watt voltage inverter built in, so it looks like you could use your car as a quiet gasoline generator.
No one seems to be all that fond of continuing the development of Ares 1 (a government-owned solution) or the cost of developing something that already exists i.e. something you can buy now (EELVs). Of course, much can change between now and the election – and who will run NASA in 2009. But the writing on the wall is starting to become rather clear.
To France. And what happened to the Dems, who are all the time telling us that we should be doing things the way the Europeans do?
The Democrats are stuck in a punitive, soak-the-rich time warp with class warfare written all over it.
Despite all the current polls, I still believe their Walter Mondale approach to taxes and their McGovernite soft-on-the terror war approach is a losing combination that will doom the Dems next year.
looks like it might be an interesting solution. It’s also got a fifteen hundred watt voltage inverter built in, so it looks like you could use your car as a quiet gasoline generator.