Why the media says the space plan costs a trillion dollars

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Monday March 22, 2004 · 12:31 PM PST

2004/03/22 · 12:31

In January, soon after President Bush announced plans to return to space, you saw mentionns in the press of the 'Trillion dollar' price tag.

Which was odd .. where did that number come from? It wasn't published by NASA or anyone who actualally knows what is going on.

Dwayne Day tracked down the source of the figure. Turns out the AP writer did his sums wrong. See below for links.

Argue against the space program, we need honest debate. But to argue from incomplete or erroneous figures is disingenous at best. Read More

NASA - a union - NASA Watch and Unfair Labor Practices

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Friday March 19, 2004 · 11:55 PM PST

2004/03/19 · 23:55

At what point is a union stepping over the boundry of good sense (and the law) into extralegal territory?

Dr. William Henry Jones, NASA, published a letter to the membership of IFPTE Local 28.

Keith Cowling of NASA Watch published the letter and had some semi-scathing remarks.

Virginia Cantwell, President of IFPTE Local 28, wrote to Keith, threatening an Unfair Labor Practice.

Cowling is a private citizen who runs several web sites that publishes commentary on and about space, NASA and related subjects. He's not employed by the government. Can a union really bring a UTP against a private citizen? What about using government facilities (computer and email) to threaten the UTP?

So the union has devolved from an institution defeding the worker against the depredations of management into an office that threatens private citizens for publishing semi-mocking commentary ...
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Haiti Explained - Part II

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Wednesday March 10, 2004 · 1:01 PM PST

2004/03/10 · 13:01

Part II of the War Nerd's attempt to explain Haiti.

Haiti 2: the Rerun
http://www.exile.ru/185/war_nerd.html

"In my last column, I tried to cover the main episodes in Haitian military history from Columbus's landing to Haitian Independence in 1804. And it wasn't easy to do. This is one place that generates a lot of history, per capita. You know the old Chinese curse, "May you live in interesting times"? Well, Haiti is what you'd call an interesting place.

I'll have a damned hard time covering 1804 to the present in this sequel. Haitian history just won't stop happening. Between that last column and this one, President Aristide, who was Clinton's great black hope, was booted out and is now in a holding pattern over some African airport. By the time this issue hits the net, God only knows what new mess we'll have in Haiti." Read More

Haiti Explained

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Tuesday March 02, 2004 · 8:12 PM PST

2004/03/02 · 20:12

The War Nerd weighes in on the mess in Haiti - via The Exile. He has a .. unique take on things.

The Big Hate
http://www.exile.ru/184/war_nerd.html

Haiti popped into the news again, and I decided it was time to tell the whole military history of the place. It's got to be the most amazing, bloodsoaked, heroic, messed-up story in the Western Hemisphere: slave armies defeating Napoleon's troops, huge castles built in the middle of the jungle, endless three-cornered war between whites, blacks and mulattos...it's just incredible. In fact, it's so wild and complex I'm going to have to divide it into two columns. This one will cover Haiti up to independence in 1803. Next issue I'll bring it from there to the present.

John Kerry and his war record; Testimony to Congress and an apology

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Monday March 01, 2004 · 6:34 PM PST

2004/03/01 · 18:34

I owe the Kerry supporters here an apology.

When John Kerry he returned home from the War and decided it was a Bad Thing, he took part in a conference that attempted to expose the Truth about the Vietnam war, and testified before Congress as an expert on the matter. Read More

When John Kerry's Courage Went M.I.A.

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Wednesday February 25, 2004 · 4:25 AM PST

2004/02/25 · 04:25

by Sydney H. Schanberg
February 24th, 2004 1:00 PM

Published in the 'Village Voice'
http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0408/schanberg.php

Senator John Kerry, a decorated battle veteran, was courageous as a navy lieutenant in the Vietnam War. But he was not so courageous more than two decades later, when he covered up voluminous evidence that a significant number of live American prisoners--perhaps hundreds--were never acknowledged or returned after the war-ending treaty was signed in January 1973.

The Massachusetts senator, now seeking the presidency, carried out this subterfuge a little over a decade ago-- shredding documents, suppressing testimony, and sanitizing the committee's final report--when he was chairman of the Senate Select Committee on P.O.W./ M.I.A. Affairs. Read More

Economist on Outsourcing

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Friday February 20, 2004 · 3:16 PM PST

2004/02/20 · 15:16

An article from 'The Economist' on Outsourcing.

http://www.economist.com/agenda/displayStory.cfm?story_id=245453

The great hollowing-out myth
Feb 19th 2004
From The Economist print edition

You may not like what The Economist has to say, but there is little doubt that they are usually right.

Comments? Read More

A guy who served with Mr. Bush in the ANG

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Wednesday February 11, 2004 · 6:59 PM PST

2004/02/11 · 18:59

wrote a letter to the editor, published in the Washington Times.

http://www.washtimes.com/op-ed/20040210-082910-8424r.htm

One of the knocks I've heard against Bush was that, while Kerry has a group of vets on the trail with him, narry a voice was heard from anyone (save the now deceased COs) who served in the ANG with Bush.

Can we please move beyond this now?

Question for Kerry supporters

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Wednesday February 11, 2004 · 2:57 AM PST

2004/02/11 · 02:57

I have a few questions for the Kerry supporters here;

Where does your man stand on the topic of space? For it? Again it?

In favor of expanding NASA's puny budget?

How does he feel about giving tax breaks or X-Prizes to spur development Out There?

How do you feel about the topic?

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