Monthly Archives: March 2005

he sure can pick ‘em

Politics

Does anyone else see a trend in the recent US nominations to world-facing positions? First Condi as Secretary of State, then John Bolton, “a guy who hates the UN”:http://www.workingforchange.com/article.cfm?ItemID=18728, as UN ambassador, and now “Wolfowitz as head of the World Bank”:http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/story/0,3604,1439192,00.html. Honestly, it’s like making David Duke the ambassador to Kenya.

Peter Bosshard (from the article) put it best:

_”In his career, Wolfowitz has so far not shown any interest in poverty reduction, environmental protection and human rights. His election as World Bank president would most likely exacerbate the current backlash against social and environmental concerns at the World Bank, and would initiate a new era of conflict between the Bank and civil society.”_

A Little More about Space Exploration

Space

Saw a great documentary with Glen over the weekend about Spirit and Opportunity. Both were supposed to last 90 days, but they’re still going. Helping that is this latest news – Spirit just received a mystery bath similar to one given (?) to Opportunity some time ago. No one understands it really, but it’s cool.

I’m also trying to figure out how to support Sentator Barbara Mikulski in her bid to keep the Hubble running. You go, Babs!

new face of the space race

Space

Space Review invites you to “Meet Michael Griffin”:http://www.thespacereview.com/article/339/1, the new nominee for NASA administrator. While I’ve been extremely skeptical of the Bush administration’s space exploration initiative, this nomination actually gives me hope that NASA could be shifted to the right track.

It wouldn’t be without losses, of course; the shuttle, ISS, and Hubble are all likely to take a back seat to human exploration of the solar system. However, I think that if we can really put people back on the Moon and/or send them to Mars, the gains would be worth it.