Trump is setting the USA up to mine the moon, something that should never be done because ultimately it will effect the moon's orbital balance with Earth.

But, Plutocrats are myopic when it comes to money. They are destroying Earth, why not Earth's balance with the moon. Dead carbon sinks in the way of global coral reefs should be at the top of the USA budget, not forgotten as a drag on USA profiteering ventures.

There is absolutely no evidence that it is safe to mine the moon, the only orbiting satellite of Earth. Who cares though, right?

Where is the money from the morons that want to mine the moon? I haven't heard of the pre-payments for such an idiotic venture! Why does the USA have to pay for it?

February 12, 2018
By Mike Wall

...The newly unveiled request (click here) gives some more details about NASA's plans to return astronauts to the moon, a focus that President Donald Trump made official with the signing of "Space Policy Directive 1" in December.

If all goes according to plan, the agency will launch a "power and propulsion space tug," a component of NASA's planned outpost in near-moon space, in 2022. And astronauts will launch on a mission around the moon, using the agency's Orion capsule and Space Launch System megarocket, in 2023.

The budget request "reflects the administration's confidence that America will lead the way back to the moon and take the next giant leap from where we made that first small step for humanity nearly 50 years ago," NASA acting administrator Robert Lightfoot said today in a "State of NASA" address at the agency's Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama....

Official portrates by Kehinde Wiley and Amy Sherald

Michelle Obama’s portrait by Baltimore artist Amy Sherald, oil on linen. (Amy Sherald)

The National Portrait Gallery unveiled Barack Obama’s portrait by Kehinde Wiley, oil on canvas. (Kehinde Wiley) The President's portrait is spot on, but, solemn. I find that both artists decided to portray their subjects in a serious tone. As to the greenery. Well, to me, President Obama was never afraid of the green economy he advocated and having leaves touch him is all part of that.

"The difference between linen and canvas" (click here) It is an interesting picture of the First Lady. I don't recall her being that solemn in her demeanor, but, perhaps that is an aspect of her time in the White House that needed to be brought out.

The artists should be heard from at some point and have them talk about their journey to find the right portrait.

12 February 2018

Offical portraits of Barak and Michelle obama (click here)) were unveiled on Monday at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington.

The Obamas were there to see the unveiling of the gallery’s first commissions of official portraits by African American artists.

The former president’s portrait was painted by Kehinde Wiley, an artist best known for his vibrant, large-scale paintings of African Americans.

For Michelle Obama’s portrait, the gallery commissioned Baltimore-based artist Amy Sherald, first-prize winner of the Portrait Gallery’s 2016 Outwin Boochever Portrait competition.

“How about that? That’s pretty sharp,” said Obama, who described the art as “extraordinary”. He said: “It’s my great honor to be here. It means so much to us.”

He thanked Sherald for the portrait of his wife and for so “spectacularly capturing the the grace, and beauty, and intelligence, and charm, and … hotness of the woman I love”....

President Moon Jae of South Korea is still as popular as he was when elected.

I am not at the center of the diplomatic earthquake on the Korean peninsula, but, it is really astounding to realize how Kim Jong Un has brought these people together. The USA could never achieve this breaking point in diplomatic relations. I think the military parade in North Korea was about the USA and not South Korea.

I think Un coming to South Korea in a very real way is significant and should not be toyed with. His wife was seen for the first time in years. This is a huge movement in diplomatic relations between the two countries. The people of South Korea wanted this. China wants this. I think the way forward is still unclear, but, with openness to movement forward alone is a monumental shift in tensions.

North Korean people need help to develop an economy that carries their children into a new and better world. It has been well over fifty years. When was the agreement 1954? 

July 7, 1953 was the signing of the Korean Armistice Agreement. It is time to move forward with peace. There is no doubt in my mind it is time to move forward. I think there are magnificent diplomats in Europe and Asia and can move this forward in a way that will first benefit the people on the peninsula and save lives in North Korea by providing humanitarian relief.

I think protecting life and saving lives is paramount to the opening salvoes with both North and South Korea. There are families that want to be reunited and that is a nice focus, but, the well being of the North Korean people need to be a focus. When the humanitarian mission is addressed, the ability to move forward should be easier.

I think the USA is a problem for North Korea. That may be a laughable statement, but, no one wants to escalate tensions so much as resolve them. How do diplomats function to bring these peoples together in peace if there is chronic tensions unresolved? I think North Korea's nuclear development is directly related to the USA. If the USA can't be instrumental in diplomacy to place the people first, then the USA is useless. 

Let's get something straight here. The UN seals came off the nuclear reactors in North Korea AFTER, immediately after the "Axis of Evil" speech by "W." No diplomatic effort needs the USA causing more problems. The people of North and South Korea have needs only their leaders can solve.

I congratulate President Moon Jae in accepting this incredible movement in relations with their northern neighbor. He has my sincerest wishes for success. Maybe Dennis Rodman was more of a friend to Un then we realize. Get this going. Please. I look forward to the humanitarian mission that will help the Korean people immediately while their leaders set an agenda going forward.

February 12, 2018
By Kim Jaewon

Seoul -- President Moon Jae (click here) in is facing a dilemma over whether to accept North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's invitation to Pyongyang because he needs the blessing of the U.S. that wants to apply "maximum pressure" on the isolated state.

Kim's younger sister Yo Jong officially invited Moon to Pyongyang to meet her brother in the near future, during their lunch meeting at the Blue House on Saturday. Kim Yo Jong had visited South Korea over the weekend as part of the country's high-ranking delegation to the Pyeongchang Winter Olympic Games.

Moon tried to keep both sides happy by hedging his position with this reply: "Let us create the right environment for that [the visit] to happen," said Moon. It is understood that he was referring to the improvement in the relationship between the U.S. and North Korea....

I don't like the Whtie Supremacist culture in the White House, but, it is Trump and not Kelly that appears to be the problem.

I think the underlying problem is going to be there. Kelly seems to be a man similar in values as Trump, so what does everyone want? I am worried about his replacement. At least General Kelly understands the security of the country. The American people have to come to terms with the man that Donald Trump is, not his chief of staff.

The meeting to introduce General Kelly to the staff is very telling, namely, the family was present in the wings of the meeting and not front and center. That to me is a part of the problem with disgruntled murmuring in the White House.

While General Kelly is taking on the public identity of a person unable to get along with Donald Trump, I am not sure that isn't an asset in the stability of the White House. A mean boss may be difficult to get along with, but, he is a boss that can do the job. I think the disgruntled staff and perhaps journalists that do not have access to the president need to assess their real complaints and the issues the country may be facing. It seems to me the complaints General Kelly is facing was inherited and not developed by the General. Did anyone ever think Bannon would be gone? Bannon is gone.

The real story is the lack of focus by the US Congress to sincerely resolve these issues and not General Kelly.

August 14, 2017
By Michael Duffy

To the men and women (click here) of the Trump White House–the curious, the hopeful, the desperate and the dubious–the all-hands summons was a little out of the ordinary.

It invited everyone to a meeting the next day in an unusual place: not a room in the cramped West Wing or the much larger South Court Auditorium, which is typically used for such sessions, but the quieter marbled entryway of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, next to the White House. After almost 200 days of infighting, leaks and operatic staff shake-ups, morale was running a bit thin. Hundreds of people, including dozens who have been exiled from the West Wing for a sorely needed renovation, turned up to meet the new boss.

No introduction was needed. John Kelly simply stepped to the microphone and said, “Hi. Nice to meet you. I’m from Boston.” As the President’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and other senior aides watched from the wings, the retired four-star Marine general then rallied the embattled troops and laid down new rules of engagement. He urged his staff to stop the infighting and set their egos and agendas (and any leaking) aside. With a nod to the Marine credo–God, Country, Corps–he told his audience that they must start serving a hierarchy that put the nation, and not the President, first: “Country, President, Self,” he said....   

"Good Night, Moon"

The waning crescent

26.2 day old moon

12.3 percent lit

President Trump is full of bad ideas. Every country in the world looks to the US Space Program as an exercise in greatness. Yet, when it comes to Trump, he wants to dump it. Maybe we can name all the insulting ideas of Trump, "The Trump Dump." Rather than harnessing greatness and rising to the occassion, it is "The Trump Dump" because it doesn't make money.

June 24, 2018
By Loren Grush

The Trump administration (click here) is preparing to end support for the International Space Station program by 2025, according to a draft budget proposal reviewed by The Verge. Without the ISS, American astronauts could be grounded on Earth for years with no destination in space until NASA develops new vehicles for its deep space travel plans.

The draft may change before an official budget request is released on February 12th. However, two people familiar with the matter have confirmed to The Verge that the directive will be in the final proposal. NASA says it won’t comment on the request until it’s released. “NASA and the International Space Station partnership is committed to full scientific and technical research on the orbiting laboratory, as it is the foundation on which we will extend human presence deeper into space,” a NASA spokesperson said in a statement to The Verge. “We will not comment on any leaked or pre-decisional documents prior to the release of the President’s FY19 budget, which is scheduled for February 12.”...