So are we all just going to tacitly ignore this vehicles true purpose? Rumors have been openly circulating for years that this space plane is simply the latest nuclear payload delivery mechanism of the United States (or 'fourth column' of preemptive nuclear 'defense') with orbital loitering capabilities measured in years rather than hours. In trademark style the air force neither confirms nor denies this all the whilst claiming the mission is entirely scientific in its (top secret) purpose.

I do wonder in the dead of night if the nuclear umbrella keeping us all safe has in recent years become a literal umbrella of space-based nuclear weapons without the general populace being at all aware of it. The Sword of Damocles has become all too real and it is more terrifying than any ballistic missile submarine lurking off the coast.

It is 2 minutes to midnight.

>Has America forgotten about the spy network?

Yes.

You touched a nerve there. Of all people I would of been very happy to see him experience space for himself. Rest in peace Mr Clarke

"no worries" is a standard reply in Australia to such courtesy, 'your welcome' would be considered rather stiff and formal by comparison.

To get around the paywall simply search on google "U.S. Factories Are Working Again; Factory Workers, Not So Much" under 'News' and follow the link. Prest! Paywall bypassed. Works on most every major news site.

I thought it was odd this morning when I logged onto my Windows 7 work PC that the first thing I saw upon opening Chrome was a dialogue box asking permission to install a new extension from Adobe that I hadn't asked for. I declined, of course. Now I see my suspicions that it was official spyware have been vindicated, surprise surprise.

I still use and carry around my Zune HD regularly as my Nexus 5 lacks an SD card slot and music streaming services aren't quite there yet IMO (data charges aside). It's a nifty little player as well as quirky part of consumer tech history. They command a hefty price tag on eBay nowadays as it would seem they have become a collectors items of sorts.

Oh boy, the Godwin's are really flying today on Slashdot.

See; The Banality of Evil

This image is fake! There is no NATO base in Kazakhstan!! I am so sick of seeing this image!

You can take my PC from my cold, dead hands. Over my dead body!

Quality over quantity, please! It's already enough work separating the wheat from the chaff without publishers working to multiply their daily output in a bid to spoof search algorithms.

1440 pieces of content in one day is ridiculous, nobody has time to read even 1% of that unless you exclusively read the Washington Post.

It's true, Kazakhstan is all too often overlooked in world affairs but they are an up 'n comer in terms of resources and energy. I only hope they won't fall prey to the 'resource curse' like so many other developing nations with abundant natural resources. The people of Kazakhstan also proudly fly what is IMO the coolest national flag.

I am travelling to Astana next year for the World Expo 2017 (aka World's Fair), I think maybe more people will sit up and pay attention to Kazakhstan when that happens. The theme will be 'Future Energy' with a heavy focus on renewables. I expect a few stories to appear on /. during the event showcasing the latest innovations in that technology space.

I actually prefer that to "think of the profit margins!". I actually care about children as opposed to some multinational's bottom-line that could potentially be affected by an online review.