Obviously in 2026 most of the posts are going to be about how stupid Trump is just making meaningless goals for his own ego.

To be clear, he absolutely is.

Then again, I would point out that it seems pretty common that every president since the 1970s* has seen fit in the latter stages of their presidency to "talk big" on space commitments ... and then proceed to fund none of them.
Until I actually SEE $50bn flowing into NASA or space investment, I take ANY presidential assertions about expanding space programs as what they are: publicity bullshit.

*In fact the only one I can think of that didn't was Biden, but he was basically non compos mentis the last 12+ months anyway.

OK, OK we'll let Xi know you're earning your paycheck today.

The chinese space program is a fundamentally MILITARY program and thus its budgets, priorities, and developments are secret UNLESS there is deemed a value to public revelation.
The Chinese routinely withhold basic data that is generally shared across space agencies globally such as expected precise trajectories of vehicles and discarded stages.

Project 921, Shenlong, Or perhaps the 2007 ASAT test that was COMPLETELY unannounced and blew what, 3000+ of orbital debris?

Do you know what those TJS "communication" satellites are doing migrating into specific geostrategic orbits and then suddenly adjusting to park next to US or Euro satellites?

How's Yang Lewei feeling today?

https://undark.org/2019/01/29/...

What's chinese for "shut the fuck up, comrade"? I'm pretty sure you know it.

Okay - let's discuss. What game is China playing? Then what game is the US playing?

Chang'e, the Chinese Lunar program is moving along recently landing at the lunar South Pole. They have a pretty well thought out mission. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... Present plans are to land people in 2030. Planned for 2035 is a moon base with nations China, Russia, South Africa, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Venezuela, Pakistan and Egypt as partners.

This isn't the same game as the 1960's race, this one might have sovereign property declaration involved. There are science implications as well - witness the brouhaha over China's recent landing at the South Pole. There are mineral rights as well - if the pole holds water, it would have an important role in water for drinking and fuel for further space exploration. Seems like a plausible reason for a race to me.

Your thoughts?

... But my request to the IT security mavens would be to extend your rigor beyond the employees to the programs that directly contradict your rules themselves.

I am told strictly: NEVER click on a blind link, yet I get constant emails from departments - including IT! - that are LINKS to training videos, educational resources, mandatory bullshit that when if don't click on it, I get stern warnings that I'm not doing mandatory things. (Oh, and all external email urls are replaced with unparseable 200-character strings that supposedly route the link through "URL defense" or some such.)

Or how about all the consultants? I work for an EU multinational and we have at least 3 REGULATORY-required systems that I have to log into to comply with EU bureaucracy that are myCompany.kpmg.com or whatever - and then I'm supposed to give that EXTERNAL pop-up my *corporate* user and password while it authenticates through our corporate cellphones.

I'm reasonably savvy, I believe, but when policy & security rules contradict, which am I supposed to follow? I can tell you that corporate IT doesn't appreciate being shown it's own use of blind links.

Since I'm required to be on that cesspit, and all jokes aside, there are plenty of under 60's there. Surprisingly seems to be as many thirst traps as say, instagram. There are even some proper uses for it.

But yes, social media for kids is terribly toxic. And I'm certain some will get around the ban. But we shouldn't make perfect the enemy of good.

As we fall off this bridge, we really need to attempt to do an assessment of how it affects older people as well. People might remember I'm an amateur researcher in the area of gender relations. Young adults are being harmed as well, especially in the area of relationships.

Things like the Toxic TikTok relationship tests are "testing" relationships by destroying them - loyalty tests, fake breakup tests. Illiterate boyfriend tests. Ignore your boyfriend tests.

And on the other side, since men have learned of these tests, the result is usually an immediate breakup. Because men have their own access to the internet and social media, and are sharing some of this.

A pity, because a lot of relationships that might have gone somewhere have ended over stupid tests.

China! There needs to be a prod to get the US moving. Just as the Apollo Program was in response to Russia's space program, we now have a fire lit under us by China's space effort.

The pieces are in place, so time to roll seriously. Artemis appears to have shaken down okay. Now it’s time to get the mating pieces put together and make certain they work.

Pocket watch.

Time to start work! Eight o'clock, on the dot!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

In child rapist island world, bad people made deals to grift and graft in between bouts of raping children. One of those people is sitting in the big chair, deciding who gets paid instead of the people the constitution says are supposed to do it. You want to act surprised that people believe the funds are being misappropriated?

The only contractors in the US which have a chance to get anything to the moon are SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Boing. All are hugely problematic for a variety of reasons, and asserting that noticing that is clown shit is itself cuck shit.

That does look pretty good, but I'm not using the network. The only things I want to see are Live TV and HDMI inputs. Everything else is an anti-feature.

Yeah, and Trump is promising to wrap up the war immediately after the upcoming elections.

I've always been a big fan of space exploration, but for a country that can't afford its lifestyle a moon base doesn't sound very important priority.

(Or maybe I should have said "isn't willing to pay for" its lifestyle.)

Fuck your LG stock.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

I have no experience with their cans, only their buds, which I've been very happy with. Maybe they have been ruined since they started taking advice from Bose, as I haven't bought any in a while, but the last ones I did buy had a more-easily-untangleable flat rubbery cord and sounded really nice. They were clear for both music and calls, and were less than twenty bucks... maybe $14?

I'm not a "pay extra" kind of guy, though I do try not to buy the absolute most crap thing. I'm a "refurb" type.

That's true but irrelevant to this or any other point, since you'll never sum all small groups until extinction.