SPACE WATCH
NASA – In FY 2012, NASA will strengthen the Nation’s human space flight activities by transitioning from an engineering focus on building the ISS to an emphasis on scientific research and technology development—essential building blocks for a long-term human space exploration program. The ISS is the centerpiece of NASA’s planning for extended space missions, as it serves as a research laboratory and technology test bed for basic and advanced studies in life sciences, human health, material sciences, Earth science, and fundamental physics. A new independent non-profit organization is being established to coordinate and oversee all of these research and technology efforts.
Technologies conceived by the world’s greatest innovators will be tested in the space environment, proving their potential value in advancing exploration, and sparking ideas for products and services that benefit society here on Earth. These technologies will spur economic growth as new markets are developed, creating new jobs, and expanding international trade. Advances in scientific research, successful solutions to engineering challenges, and new technologies will help ignite student interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) academic disciplines and careers. Industry and government employers will increase demand for skilled workers as the U.S. repositions itself for technological leadership on a global scale. more> http://tinyurl.com/yeedvw8
By Christopher Whalen – 
“The banks negotiated a means by which they collect unsecured credit ahead of first mortgages and all mortgage losses go to the federal government,” notes a veteran attorney. “These losses will be funded by US taxpayers because the banks duped unsuspecting conservatives and liberals in Congress into thinking it is evil to let Bankruptcy Judges decide whether debtors can afford to pay their first mortgages.”
By David Greenfield – To make innovation easier, the barriers of complexity in technology need to be reduced to allow experts in a given domain to innovate using technologies with which they are likely not experts. This type of simplification is a task that only the engineers who are experts in a given technology can likely deliver. But to do that, they have to move beyond their love of complexity and learn to simplify by creating user-friendly interfaces with which to leverage their complex technologies. (
