Copenhagen Suborbitals’ first test launch
The first test flight of the Copenhagen Suborbitals rocket, designed to carry one passenger, launched successfully today, though there were problems with the parachutes.
Category: Points of Information
Very brief descriptions, with appropriate links, of current or recent news items.
Facebook tells Tea Party no more organizing
Facebook tells Tea Party advocates: no more organizing.
Mars 500 mission passes one year
The Russian/ESA Mars 500 mission has completed a year of its 520-day simulated flight to Mars.
The crew, who spent 250 days working on maintenance and scientific experiments before a 30-day stint performing tasks on a simulated Martian surface, are currently on their “return trip” to Earth.
This simulated all-male flight is going better than the last:
In 1999, an experiment in the same Moscow warehouse fell to pieces after a Russian team captain forced a kiss on a Canadian woman, and two Russian crewmembers had a bloody fistfight.
Oil money in Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Venezuela fueling modest space dreams
Oil money in Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Venezuela is fueling their modest space efforts.
Texas TSA pat down ban may be back
What if every state did this? The Texas law to ban any TSA full body pat downs, shelved last week, may still be passed.
And in more TSA news, video of a woman screaming for help while accusing a TSA agent of molesting her. Her son meanwhile is threatened with arrest and the confiscation of his luggage for videotaping the event.
Opportunity Passes Small Crater and Big Milestone
Opportunity’s travels on Mars have now exceeded 30 kilometers.
Federal Judge Prohibits Prayer at Texas Graduation Ceremony
A federal judge has prohibited prayer at a Texas graduation ceremony.
So how does this fit into anyone’s idea of freedom of religion or speech?
Obama solicitor general says if you don’t like the Obamacare mandate, you can earn less money
I’m so glad they are thinking of my best interests: Obama solicitor general tells court if you don’t like the Obamacare mandate, you can simply earn less money.
Moody threatens to lower the US credit rating if there is no progress on debt ceiling negotiations soon
The day of reckoning beckons: Moody has threatened to lower the US credit rating if the debt ceiling negotiations don’t show progress soon.
TSA testing non-contact system to detect terrorists before they act
And this is good? The TSA is testing a sensor system for detecting terrorists before they act.
The Future Attribute Screening Technology (FAST) security programme is designed to spot people who are planning to commit a terrorist act. The U.S. government system can ‘sense’ when you are planning and measures physiological factors such as heart rates and eye movements.
EPA gave $1.29 Million to China
Our tax dollars at work: Under both the Bush and Obama administrations, the EPA has given $1.29 million in grants to various Chinese government agencies.
Why the Endangered Species act doesn’t work
Why the Endangered Species Act doesn’t work.
[R]adical green groups . . . [are] engaged in an industry whose waste products are fish and wildlife. You and I are a major source of revenue for that industry. The Interior Department must respond within 90 days to petitions to list species under the Endangered Species Act. Otherwise, petitioners like the Center for Biological Diversity get to sue and collect attorney fees from the Justice Department.
And this:
Amos Eno runs the hugely successful Yarmouth, Maine-based Resources First Foundation, an outfit that, among other things, assists ranchers who want to restore native ecosystems. Earlier, he worked at Interior’s Endangered Species Office, crafting amendments to strengthen the law, then went on to direct the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. Eno figures the feds could “recover and delist three dozen species” with the resources they spend responding to the Center for Biological Diversity’s litigation.
“The amount of money [Center for Biological Diversity] makes suing is just obscene,” he told me. “They’re one of the reasons the Endangered Species Act has become so dysfunctional. They deserve the designation of eco-criminals.”