Views from the Solar System (66)

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Sunita Williams on Spacewalk
NASA – NASA astronaut Sunita Williams, Expedition 32 flight engineer, appears to touch the bright sun during the mission’s third session of extravehicular activity (EVA) on Sept. 5, 2012.

During the six-hour, 28-minute spacewalk, Williams and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Aki Hoshide (visible in the reflections of Williams’ helmet visor), flight engineer, completed the installation of a Main Bus Switching Unit (MBSU) that was hampered by a possible misalignment and damaged threads where a bolt must be placed. They also installed a camera on the International Space Station’s robotic arm, Canadarm2.

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It is IMPOSSIBLE for the US to default!!!

By John T. Harvey – With so many economic, political, and social problems facing us today, there is little point in focusing attention on something that is not one. The false fear of which I speak is the chance of US debt default.

The reason the US could never be forced to default is that every single bit of the debt is owed in the currency that we and only we can issue: dollars. Unlike Greece, we don’t have to try to earn foreign exchange via exports or beg for better terms. There is simply no level of debt we could not repay with a keystroke.

“The United States can pay any debt it has because we can always print money to do that. So there is zero probability of default.” Alan Greenspan

Mind you, that doesn’t mean there might not be other economic or political consequences. more> http://tinyurl.com/9sdxbfd

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8 Ways Washington Could Really Help Small Business

By Geoffrey James -

If politicians really wanted to help small business, they’d do the following:

1. Stop making ‘small business’ meaningless.
2. Punish large companies that defect elsewhere.
3. Be honest about ‘free trade.’
4. Create a progressive business tax.
5. Make corporate campaign contributions public.
6. Legalize (and tax) the drug trade.
7. Implement size-neutral health insurance.
8. Educate more engineers.

Sometimes it seems like the higher education system in the United States is geared exclusively towards the creation of MBAs. With all due respect, small businesses don’t need more MBAs–but they do need more engineers. more> http://tinyurl.com/cn8vkrx

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Jimmy Wales threatens to encrypt Wikipedia if UK passes snooping bill

English: Portrait of Jimmy Wales at the 10 anniversary party for Wikipedia London
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

By Timothy B. Lee – “If we find that UK ISPs are mandated to keep track of every single webpage that you read at Wikipedia, I am almost certain we would immediately move to a default of encrypting all communication to the UK, so that the local ISP would only be able to see that you are speaking to Wikipedia, not what you are reading,” Wales told members of parliament. He said this wouldn’t be a difficult change to implement.

He said the data retention bill is “not the sort of thing I’d expect from a western democracy. It is the kind of thing I would expect from the Iranians or the Chinese.” more> http://tinyurl.com/8zghw9l

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Owners Lose Possessions After Home Near Twentynine Palms Is Mistakenly Foreclosed

Wells Fargo Stagecoach
(Photo credit: Noel C. Hankamer)

CBSLA.com — The owners of a modest home near Twentynine Palms lost their cherished possessions after a bank mistakenly foreclosed their residence.

A crew broke into Alvin and Pat Tjosaas’ desert home and took everything after being directed by Wells Fargo to secure the structure.

The couple, however, didn’t have a mortgage on the home. more> http://tinyurl.com/8lnw49o

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