I went to the reception for the International Development Design Summit at MIT on Wednesday, August 6.  It is the second year for this project which brings together people from all over the world to work together on what we used to call appropriate technology, affordable technology for people in the poorest countries of the world, innovative solutions for persistent problems that almost everybody can use.

This year over 50 students worked on nine different projects for four weeks.  They didn't produce papers.  They produced prototypes and presented them to an SRO capacity audience in the Bartos Theater at the Media Lab.

Their motto is "Help me and let me help you."  The idea of co-creation, collaboration between the designers and the users, is at the core of their method.  It shows.

This week has been a great week for spaceflight, and space development.  And it all happened during the week of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of NASA (at least by some measures).  We had the unveiling of WhiteknightTwo, the first public flights the X-Racer, some incredible events from SpaceX, and Senator Obama, offering a great comment on space policy.  Join me over the fold for pictures, movies, and some great vision from our candidate.

The Senate on Wednesday failed to vote...AGAIN...on extending tax credits for renewable investments, primarily solar and wind.  The vote was pretty much down party lines, with some defections.

Without these tax incentives many of the large renewable projects currently in the development pipeline will be delayed indefinitely and offer a good chance of being abandoned outright.

The New York Times is running a story documenting an administration officials journey into the reality of the Afghan economy here. (Registration and login required).

The author takes a while to come around to the gist of the story:

"There was no coherent strategy to resolve these issues among the U.S. agencies and the Afghan government. When I asked career officers at the State Department for the interagency strategy for Afghan counternarcotics, they produced the same charts I used to brief the cabinet in Washington months before. "There is no written strategy," they confessed."

(Note: This is a followup to my post yesterday.

This article (cited by Raw Story)US-led soldier among scores killed, Afghan district falls caught my attention the other morning, and led me to ruminate on how the US can gracefully triumph in Afghanistan.

If there is a "right" conflict in which to be engage, this is it. Afghanistan is struggling to merge from medieval levels of poverty with it's national character intact. This is an effort the United States should support because it's success may change conflict dynamics both within Afghanistan, and within critical neighboring countries of Pakistan and Iran. And unlike Vietnam, Afghanistan is a place where many if not most of its people would welcome a NATO-led victory against the warlords, Taliban and corrupt government officials.

Hey Everyone,

I figured now would be a good time to remind everyone (again) about some upcoming space events, that would be worth going to.  We have a couple of major events this week, as well as future events upcoming.  I promise reports to any and all I attend, and I suggest that you attend as well  

Human life is important.  We in the progressive space advocacy community believe in the mission of human space precisely because - if cause and effect can be deliberately confused - consciousness is practically the purpose of the universe, and worth elaborating upon ad infinitum.  Yet space is so big and impersonal, terrifying the animal hindbrain beneath all our pretenses, that our reaction is highly emotional when danger in theory becomes catastrophe in fact.  Something in us quails at the notion of death in space above and beyond death itself, and has in ways both subtle and overt held back progress on this most important frontier.  I would like to argue for a fundamental change in emphasis in our approach to these risks, and raise some red flags about how space is being sold by our most promising entrepreneurs.  

In many of my past diaries, I commented on Senator Obama, and his lack of a space policy, and the concern that he is anti human spaceflight.  These diaries have ranged from long explanations, to something that was probably close to a rant.

However, today I want to talk about something that, Senator Obama can do, which doesn't require massive new spending, but would show an openness to the idea of manned spaceflight, and would fit well within his comments and concerns about having a coherent space policy.  Senator Obama, please bring back the National Space Council.

A couple weeks back, Chris Bowers wrote a piece over at openleft about our space priorities, and what he thinks they should be.  As I mentioned in an earlier piece, I had family issues this month that chewed up my time big time, and therefore was not able to actively comment at the time.  

Normally, I don't comment on other peoples' written pieces (well, normally anyway), but given Mr. Bowers' prominence in the blogging community, and the fact that he will be speaking at the NetRoots Nation Space policy panel, I decided to go ahead and comment on what he wrote.  Besides, it gives me an excuse to write about space policy, and you, humble reader, an excuse to read about it. :D  

To raise some issues seen by space activists, I have decided to open up my diary to fellow space enthusiasts who do not have a dailykos account.  This is the first, in what will hopefully be a series of diaries, from various people.  

BTW, everything in italics are my comments.

Welcome to my second ISDC report.  I apologize for the delay on it - I've been dealing with 2 grandparents in the hospital.  

Anyway, On Wednesday, May 28th, prior to the start of ISDC, the 4th Space Investment Summit happened.  This was a business development forum, designed to bring together people in the space community, especially those who are current entrepreneurial start-up companies, and those in the investment community, with the hope of providing networking opportunities to raise capital (IE money).  

A lot of the discussion was very focused on how to develop your business, and reach investors.  I will provide a run-down of the companies that presented, and then will provide some links to additional resources.  

Join me over the flipside, so I can introduce you to Ecliptic Enterprises, SkyCorp Inc, XCOR Aerospace, Rocket Racing League, Orbital Outfitters, and Odyssey Moon

bonddad wrote a thought provoking piece on how to transform the US from a debt to an equity economy, and came up with a four point plan:

1. Balance budget

2. Educate the population

3. Focus on growth industry

4. Open up Alaskan and Coastal resources to a gold rush

However, none of these are likely to take the US Economy out of its long term depression.  Even combined, they do not address the underlying economic realities:

1. We have more people (globally) than can be integrated into the economy

2. Our current energy sources can not sustain continued growth

3. The design of American society is not conducive to sustainability

4. All long term economic projections are fundamentally unsound

Well, I did promise reports from the International Space Development Conference (ISDC).  I had hoped to live blog it, but unfortunately, that didn't happen (for a couple of reasons), and then after I got back, both my grandparents went to the hospital.  So things were a little busy.  

However, I was there as media, and I promised reports to people, so here is the first one.  Before I go into what happened, with regard to the politics, let me give a short background about ISDC.  ISDC is put on every year, for 26 years, by the National Space Society.  Its purpose is to promote space development.  It brings together scientists, engineers, policy makers, businessmen, even artists and philosophers, to talk about and discuss space development.  

With that firmly established, join me on the other side, to talk about some of the political discussions that happened there, this year.  

Anyone with a modicum of environmental awareness must realize that subsidizing further development of coastal habitats with federal tax dollars is a bad idea.  And yet that is precisely the effect of proposed federal legislation to subsidize insurance in hurricane zones.  Like similar laws that encourage irresponsible growth in flood plains, such legislation would underwrite the irresponsible development of critical habitats.  The result is subsidized environmental destruction, as well as economically nonsensical policy.

Sometimes, in my rage at the Federal administration, I forget that local politics has its own fair share of disgrace. Case in point: the Atlantic Yards project in Brooklyn.

Federal agencies aren't the only ones gagging scientists.  The private sector is doing it, too, and increasingly with money rather than threats.  

The Associated Press reports that Tejon Ranch, a California development company, is co-opting the limited number of condor experts by paying them to 'review' its plan for condor preservation and requiring confidentiality as a condition of payment.  The company plans to build "nearly 3,500 luxury homes, condos and hotels on land used by the endangered California condor," writes AP.

The developer has retained the services — and secured the public silence — of three condor experts. That's a significant portion of the half-dozen or so scientists specializing in condors on Tejon, according to the developer's chief consultant on the bird, Peter Bloom.

With the landing of the Phoenix today, I want to talk about space policy, and Senator Obama.  Last week, at a Florida event, Senator Obama talked about space.

I can't seem to embed the avaliable video directly, but here is a direct link to the video

Join me over the fold for why I am asking the question that is this diary’s title

It might disjointed, and not quite up to snuff, but Space Revolution News is back, and hopefully, it will be weekly (next week we'll see).

So join me over the fold for all the good details.