The motley items, political antics & moral posturings thread

Neil Armstrong's boot print on the moon are now protected by US law
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/...d-law.html

SUMMARY POINTS: The 'One Small Step' Act preserves the Apollo landing sites for posterity. Companies contracted with NASA must promise to steer clear of artifacts with historic or scientific value. The bill was introduced in 2019, 50 years after Apollo 11 first brought man to the moon. NASA's Artemis program is set to bring astronauts back to the moon in 2024. (DETAILS)

U.S. Space Command chief makes case for civilian space traffic control
https://spacenews.com/u-s-space-command-...c-control/

EXCERPTS: The U.S. Air Force has air traffic controllers to handle military airspace issues but the Federal Aviation Administration has overall responsibility for air safety. A similar arrangement is needed for the space domain, the commander of U.S. Space Command said Jan. 26. Space is going to get congested and the nation needs the equivalent of the FAA for space traffic, Gen. James Dickinson said on a Mitchell Institute online event.

[...] Dickinson said he supports the transfer of space traffic control to the Department of Commerce “where it can be better managed,” he said. That would allow Space Command to focus on tracking space activities that affect national security. He said Space Command and representatives from the Commerce Department have been working closely over the past two years to chart a path forward.

Dickinson said space traffic control has to be figured out sooner rather than later. “Our orbital regimes are becoming much more congested,” he said, adding that the military is not to blame for that. “Most of it is either space debris or commercial activity. And as we look to the future that’s only going to get more congested.” (MORE - details)

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Why Biden is Buying 645,000 New Electric Cars
https://www.theatlantic.com/science/arch...rs/617828/

INTRO: The U.S. federal government owns 645,047 motor vehicles, according to its most recent report on the matter. This fleet is, for the most part, a menagerie of trucks: construction vehicles, Ford F-150s, armored vans that sit next to NASA launchpads so astronauts can quickly flee in case of an emergency. Many of those trucks—about a third of the federal fleet—are the white, cube-like U.S. Postal Service vans. Another third are passenger cars. The government owns a lot of vehicles.

Since he took office six days ago, President Joe Biden has recommitted the United States to the Paris Agreement and canceled the Keystone XL pipeline. More policy is expected this week. But his most interesting climate actions so far haven’t taken the form of executive orders or really appeared in writing at all. Yet they offer a clearer view of Biden’s approach to climate change—and its aspiration to reshape the American economy—than anything we’ve seen so far.

His plan for the federal fleet, in particular, encapsulates Biden-era climate policy in its ambition and limits. He debuted the initiative yesterday while signing an executive order pledging that the government would buy more American-made goods.
More in this series

“The federal government also owns an enormous fleet of vehicles, which we're going to replace with clean electric vehicles made right here in America, by American workers,” he said. This initiative will create 1 million electric-automaking jobs, he claimed. (That’s a big goal: At the end of last year, about 930,000 Americans worked in automaking, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.)... (MORE)

Joe Biden is already facing an ally problem
https://www.vox.com/22250321/biden-europ...uela-trade

INTRO: Alliances are the keystone of President Joe Biden’s foreign policy agenda. Whether confronting China, curbing the coronavirus pandemic, or addressing climate change, Biden has repeatedly emphasized the critical importance of working with allies to tackle major global challenges.

But the problem with keystones is that if they crumble, the rest of the structure falls with them. And less than a week into Biden’s presidency, the edifice is starting to shake. That’s because, on a number of prominent issues from China to Venezuela to trade, the United States and its closest European allies are out of sync.

Last December, the European Union signed a long-promised investment deal with China despite the public concerns of Biden’s then-incoming National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan. The worry now is China will not only tighten economic relationships with America’s transatlantic allies but also use that newfound access to steal intellectual property from European industries.

This week, the EU as a bloc downgraded its support for Juan Guaidó, the Venezuelan opposition leader European nations and the US have considered the country’s interim president since 2019. Now the EU says Guaidó is a “privileged interlocutor,” potentially exposing a gap in the transatlantic strategy to depose the nation’s dictator, Nicolás Maduro.

Biden also on Monday signed his “Buy American” executive order to ensure the US government “whenever possible” purchases items “that will help American businesses compete in strategic industries and help America’s workers thrive.” Experts fear European governments will view that move as a continuation of former President Trump’s protectionist economic policies.

No two governments are ever in perfect alignment, and rifts between the US and European nations have existed for decades. But early signs indicate Biden can’t just reflexively count on European support, which makes getting longtime allies on his side a much higher priority.

“The Europeans are not keen on following the US” in whatever it wants to do, said Erik Brattberg, the Europe program director at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, DC. “Just because Biden is being nice and he’s not Trump doesn’t change that calculus.” (MORE)

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Elon Musk blasts Jeff Bezos, alleging effort to 'hamstring' SpaceX's satellite internet
https://www.nbcnews.com/science/space/el...it-rcna238

INTRO: The two richest men on the planet are sparring in front of federal regulators over the massive satellite internet projects their companies are developing.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk took to Twitter on Tuesday, as his company works to persuade Federal Communications Commission officials that it should allow SpaceX to move some of its Starlink satellites to lower altitudes than originally planned.

Jeff Bezos’ Amazon has been among companies that have disputed SpaceX’s request, on the grounds that the modification would interfere with other satellites.

“It does not serve the public to hamstring Starlink today for an Amazon satellite system that is at best several years away from operation,” Musk said in a tweet.

Amazon responded to Musk’s comment in a statement to CNBC. “The facts are simple. We designed the Kuiper System to avoid interference with Starlink, and now SpaceX wants to change the design of its system. Those changes not only create a more dangerous environment for collisions in space, but they also increase radio interference for customers. Despite what SpaceX posts on Twitter, it is SpaceX’s proposed changes that would hamstring competition among satellite systems. It is clearly in SpaceX’s interest to smother competition in the cradle if they can, but it is certainly not in the public’s interest,” an Amazon spokesperson said... (MORE)

Oregon GOP espouses "false flag" theory of Capitol riot:

https://youtu.be/Se_GdyFukQc

(Jan 27, 2021 03:43 AM)Magical Realist Wrote: Oregon GOP espouses "false flag" theory of Capitol riot:

https://youtu.be/Se_GdyFukQc

It was no less a false flag used to discredit Trump, his supporters, and all conservative Republicans than using anarchist (antifa/BLM) looting, rioting, arson, murder, etc. to discredit all protesters or Democrats. And it was certainly used to justify impeachment.

Now you can rightfully criticize the use of the word "designed", but if you have to make such quibbles, you've already failed to justify the hyperbolic "lies, lies, lies" that Tapper tries to. 9_9

US has 'moral imperative' to develop AI weapons, says panel
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021...says-panel

EXCERPTS: The US should not agree to ban the use or development of autonomous weapons powered by artificial intelligence (AI) software, a government-appointed panel has said in a draft report for Congress.

[...] Its vice-chairman, Robert Work, a former deputy secretary of defense, said autonomous weapons are expected to make fewer mistakes than humans do in battle, leading to reduced casualties or skirmishes caused by target misidentification. “It is a moral imperative to at least pursue this hypothesis,” he said.

[...] For about eight years, a coalition of non-governmental organisations has pushed for a treaty banning “killer robots”, saying human control is necessary to judge attacks’ proportionality and assign blame for war crimes. Thirty countries including Brazil and Pakistan want a ban, according to the coalition’s website, and a UN body has held meetings on the systems since at least 2014.

While autonomous weapon capabilities are decades old, concern has mounted with the development of AI to power such systems, along with research finding biases in AI and examples of the software’s abuse.

[...] The panel only wants humans to make decisions on launching nuclear warheads. Still, the panel prefers anti-proliferation work to a treaty banning the systems, which it said would be against US interests and difficult to enforce. ... The commission is due to submit its final report to Congress in March, but the recommendations are not binding... (MORE - details)

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What Happens to the Space Force Now? President Biden is inheriting one of Trump’s pet projects.
https://www.theatlantic.com/science/arch...en/617812/

EXCERPTS: The headquarters of the United States Space Command was supposed to be based in Colorado. [...] The Space Command is not the same thing as the Space Force, which was created in 2019 (and which, by the way, is not the same thing as NASA, either). The Space Force trains service members, some of whom serve under Space Command. But in Trump’s mind, they are wrapped up together, as one of his signature accomplishments.

[...] Trump leaves behind a small controversy. On the day he was impeached for the second time, his administration announced that the headquarters would not stay in Colorado, but would relocate—to Alabama. The Air Force, the department overseeing the search, had twice recommended Colorado over other sites under consideration, in late 2019 and again this year, according to a former senior defense official who served in the Trump presidency. ... “This was a political decision by the White House,” the former defense official told me. “The service recommended Colorado, and everyone expects the new administration will reopen this.”

The decision roiled Colorado lawmakers in both parties; Democrats said out loud that Trump had prioritized politics over the command’s 1,400 military and civilian workers and their families. Florida Senator Rick Scott said in a statement to The Atlantic that he’s disappointed his state wasn’t chosen, and that he is “reviewing the decision.” Alabama Senator Richard Shelby said in a statement to The Atlantic that “it’s our understanding that Huntsville was, in fact, the recommendation of the Air Force, and for good reason.”

[...] The Biden administration could have an easy time unwinding the headquarters decision, one of the many Trump-era policies it will likely roll back. But though the Space Force has often been treated as the butt of a bad joke, it is one Trump initiative that will last. It may not be the grand, legacy-making organization Trump imagined, but the Space Force isn’t going anywhere.

In the last year, the Space Force has slowly transformed into a real military service. The branch, which primarily oversees satellite operations, has debuted its own seal, organizational structure, and terminology. It has already deployed its first troops—not into space, but to the Middle East, where they’ll support combat operations that rely on space systems.

Abolishing the force would require an act of Congress, and the legislature doesn’t seem to have an appetite for that. At Biden’s inauguration ceremony, the Space Force flag appeared on the Capitol along with the flag of the other armed forces. “Nobody’s debating whether the Space Force should exist,” Jared Zambrano-Stout, an aerospace consultant and a former chief of staff for the Trump administration’s National Space Council, told me. “They’re debating about what it should be doing.”

Which puts President Joe Biden in an interesting predicament. The Space Force has always been more boring than its name implies, amounting to some organizational reshuffling of Air Force personnel and operations. But Trump has used it to fuel his own vision of American bravado, which his supporters have adopted. On the day of the Capitol attack, some supporters in Washington, D.C., and around the country complemented their Trump regalia with Space Force flags. With Trump gone, the new administration now finds itself having to embrace a piece of government saturated with MAGA spin and disdained by the left, and make it seem as ordinary as it actually is.

But an armed service dedicated to space operations is not a Trump invention. The concept emerged in the 1990s.. (MORE - details)

PETA doesn’t want you to use insults like ‘pig’, ‘chicken’, etc
https://twitter.com/peta/status/1354112418276728832

EXCERPTS (PETA): Words can create a more inclusive world, or perpetuate oppression. Calling someone an animal as an insult reinforces the myth that humans are superior to other animals & justified in violating them. Stand up for justice by rejecting supremacist language. [...] Anti-animal slurs degrade animals by applying negative human traits to certain species. Perpetuating the idea that animals are sly, dirty, or heartless desensitizes the public and normalizes violence against other animals. (MORE)

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'We Are Being Targeted, Small Businesses Like Mine’: California Small Business Forced To Close Its Doors
https://dailycaller.com/2021/01/28/we-ar...ose-doors/

EXCERPT: . . . The Little Hoover Commission, a state oversight agency, has released a report showing 30% of small businesses in California remained closed in November and “thousands” shut down permanently. “We are being targeted, small businesses like mine,” said Jenelle Prieto. “I tried to hold on for the past 11 months. I tried, but I just can’t.” Prieto had five employees before the pandemic but was forced to lay off her staff in November as the lockdown continued with no end in sight... (MORE - details)

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Ex-Atlantic City mayor gets 30 days in charity theft case
https://apnews.com/article/basketball-at...c828d70b33

EXCERPTS: Frank Gilliam, a Democrat, is the latest in a line of corrupt Atlantic City officials so long that it spawned a hit HBO TV series. He could have been sentenced to nearly two years in federal prison following his October 2019 guilty plea to wire fraud.

“I stand before this court as a fractured human being, one seeking to do better,” a sobbing Gilliam told the judge over a video link. “It’s something I wish never happened. But it did. The mistake I made is not something I’m proud of."

[...] Federal prosecutors sought a prison term of 15 to 21 months for Gilliam, who resigned as mayor on the day he pleaded guilty. He acknowledged stealing $87,000 from a youth basketball program he had set up, using some of the money for personal items including expensive clothing, trips and meals.

[...] U.S. District Court Judge Joseph Rodriguez noted that Gilliam committed a serious crime that needed to be punished. But he also took into effect evidence of Gilliam’s years of work with young people. “This defendant stole more money than many U.S. residents earn in a year,” the judge said. “The defendant also took money from the very underprivileged children in Atlantic City that he tried to encourage and prepare for a better life.”

In a letter to the court in December, Gilliam himself asked to be sentenced to probation and 500 hours of community service. The judge ordered that Gilliam carry out 200 hours of community service within three years.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean Farrell objected to the sentence, saying it should have been more lengthy to deter others in a similar situation. “He defrauded the community, and he did it on the backs of kids,” Farrell said... (MORE - details)

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Man who wore horns at riot willing to speak at Trump's trial
https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-...c73a840317

RELEASE: The lawyer for an Arizona man who took part in the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol while sporting face paint, no shirt and a furry hat with horns is offering to have his client testify at former President Donald Trump’s upcoming impeachment trial.

Lawyer Albert Watkins said he hasn’t spoken to any member in the Senate since announcing his offer to have Jacob Chansley testify at Trump’s trial, which is scheduled to begin the week of Feb. 8. Watkins said it’s important for senators to hear the voice of someone who was incited by Trump.

Watkins said his client was previously “horrendously smitten” by Trump but now feels let down after Trump’s refusal to grant Chansley and others who participated in the insurrection a pardon. “He felt like he was betrayed by the president,” Watkins said.

The words of Trump supporters who are accused of participating in the riot may end up being used against him in the impeachment trial. Chansley and at least four others people who are facing federal charges stemming from the riot have suggested they were taking orders from Trump.

Chansley hasn’t yet entered a plea to charges civil disorder, obstruction of an official proceeding, disorderly conduct in a restricted building, demonstrating in a Capitol building and other counts. He is scheduled to be arraigned Friday in Washington.

In successfully seeking his detention until trial, prosecutors said Chansley went into the Capitol carrying a U.S. flag attached to a wooden pole topped with a spear, ignored an officer’s commands to leave, went into the Senate chamber and wrote a threatening note to then-Vice President Mike Pence.

Chansley, who calls himself the “QAnon Shaman” and has long been a fixture at Trump rallies, told investigators he came to the Capitol “at the request of the president that all ‘patriots’ come to D.C. on January 6,” according to court records.

Quote:Frank Gilliam, a Democrat, is the latest in a line of corrupt Atlantic City officials so long that it spawned a hit HBO TV series

Great line.

Frank won’t be the last. He doesn’t have to recompense?

(Jan 29, 2021 07:50 AM)C C Wrote: Man who wore horns at riot willing to speak at Trump's trial
https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-...c73a840317

RELEASE: The lawyer for an Arizona man who took part in the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol while sporting face paint, no shirt and a furry hat with horns is offering to have his client testify at former President Donald Trump’s upcoming impeachment trial.

That trial's another impeachment virtue-signalling dumb show. Like the first, there's zero chance Trump is convicted in the Senate, even with Democrats having an effective majority. You need 60 votes to convict, and 45 Republicans already voted that impeaching a private citizen, since Trump has now left office, is unconstitutional. Just more Democrats jerking off their dumbass voters.

(Jan 29, 2021 06:32 PM)Syne Wrote:

(Jan 29, 2021 07:50 AM)C C Wrote: Man who wore horns at riot willing to speak at Trump's trial
https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-...c73a840317

RELEASE: The lawyer for an Arizona man who took part in the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol while sporting face paint, no shirt and a furry hat with horns is offering to have his client testify at former President Donald Trump’s upcoming impeachment trial.

That trial's another impeachment virtue-signalling dumb show. Like the first, there's zero chance Trump is convicted in the Senate, even with Democrats having an effective majority. You need 60 votes to convict, and 45 Republicans already voted that impeaching a private citizen, since Trump has now left office, is unconstitutional. Just more Democrats jerking off their dumbass voters.

I think for Mr. Chansley I'll add politically violent insanity as a category. He's f**king nuts and there just isn't enough mental institutions. I don't think for a minute it is a category exclusive to Trump supporters since in time we will witness many Biden whackos as well.