Today, I would like to discuss a few improvements that we could make with our nation and website; mainly I will focusing on citizenship and individual rights. Currently, there is not an option listed to include children of Asgardians into our population count. I feel that we are inaccurately calculating our statistics because of this. As the age of sixteen (16) is a commonly used age to define topics of consent and usage, it would be reasonable that those under the age of sixteen could have their parents or guardian designate them as citizens of our nation.  Those above the stated age would be able to define for themself if they wish to belong to Asgardia. Now, this age setting is only a suggestion, and it can be raised and lowered as needed, the same as how different locations around the world have the option to raise or lower the legal age to vote for government officials. Accurate statistics allow us to identify instances of population growth, where our financiances are going for citizens, and potential fraud. This can include fraudulent usage, or theft of health cards for free benefits to non-citizens (which is surprisingly common in my country of origin), undocumented numbers of minors getting into locations and activities that they legally should not be doing, and a general misunderstanding of who are people are overall. Now, not all of these instances are necessarily "negative", but there will be-- and believe me, it will happen all too suddenly-- debates on these topics in the future, no matter how much we may choose to either ignore them, or not realize it.

Which brings me to my next subject of debate: uncomfortable politics. We all have a topic, whether ethically or emotionally, that we would rather not talk about, or shove out of the way for another person or time to take care of it. As a new nation with the intention of being a guiding light for humanity's future, we need to air out the skeletons in our closet and face the issues head-on. Ethical conundrums, such as the subjects of race wars, abortion laws, drug legality, gun control, and more, are topics that many of our race either feels passionately about, or has no desire to touch those discussions with a ten-foot pole. The fact of the matter is, if we want to move forward, we have to decide promptly on these kinds of issues and learn to accept differing opinions as civil and intelligent beings. These are hot topics, and it is well known that most will not get along regarding the moral queries they impose. However, there needs to be procedures put in place to protect our citizens during the processes of putting related bills into law. There will be fights, and protests, and mean words said, so we need to be able to protect both city and state from abuse and terrorism during these critical, and uneasy, times. Frankly, there should be protections at all times, but we can easily predict the levels of hate and violence rising during these uncomfortable politics. Still, we need to get through these issues, these differences. Everybody has a personal right to choose their own path in life,-- whether it be pro-life or pro-choice, for or against gun control, to use or not use marijuana or other drugs, etcetera-- but they do not have the right to force their personal opinions on others. Paraphrasing the words of Dame Maggie Smith, "My dear, [opinions] are like a penis. It's a perfectly fine thing for one to have pride in, but when one takes it out and waves it in my face we have a problem." As crude as it may sound, the point is gotten across stupendously. Protect the people from difference of opinion, but also face the problem directly so we can decide on what we want to set as an example to the rest of humanity once and for all.

The asteroids are bodies formed by diverse materials, like rocks, metals and ice, that travel without fixed direction by the cosmos, sometimes in really immense orbits. And they represent enormous risks for the continuity of life on planet earth. Due to the great danger posed by a possible collision, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has several projects underway. 

One of them is called the Dual Asteroid Redirection Test Mission (DART), which is NASA's main project in its attempt to keep meteorites away from Earth. This will take place from December of the year 2020 and will serve as test and learning. 

The mission of DART is to be the first demonstration that you can deflect the trajectory of an asteroid by hitting it directly.

The impact, which will be the responsibility of the ship that bears the name of the mission, will be made against a body of small size (about 150 meters) that accompanies the asteroid Didymos. With the blow, which will occur at about 6 km / s, the object will be redirected. The aircraft will disappear in its fall against the rocks. Everything is planned so that the encounter between the ship and Didymos takes place in October 2022, so the device must make a trip of two years towards its goal. This project also had the collaboration of the European Space Agency (ESA, for its acronym in English).

Today is world day. And the Asgardia nation is progressing with this consciousness.                                                              Happy World Day

I'll be quite straight with you, I am and always have been a well-educated experienced career generalist with a background of success both science and the arts. It's my point of view that Asgardia needs BOTH generalists and specialists for maximum success in the newly-forming Asgardian parliament and government, and to create a dynamic and lively atmosphere for manifesting effective research and development of this new space kingdom.  It is my humble opinion that a fully functional and diverse team comprised of people experienced in all the specifics of creating a viable domain in space, along with people who are experienced in many areas less specified will provide a balanced and thoughtful approach, and grow a healthy and dynamic Asgardian society.   Running for parliament in these current by elections, and I think deeply and seriously about the vast number of tasks and duties in shaping all things Asgardia.  Also, looking forward to participating in whatever capacity presents, for Asgardia's healthy and flourishing development.  What are your thoughts on the topic of generalists and specialists and Asgardia?

#13 District Parliament Candidate, Cheryl Gallagher

Reference: http://www.theillinoismodel.com/ "Thinking and Adapting like a Tactical Philosopher"

While Asgardia seems like a fine idea and as good a start as any for the first human transplanetary nation, I'm deeply confused about a certain thing.

If Asgardia is a democracy, then why is it called "the Space Kingdom"? We have no king, we have no concept of Divine Right, and we have no aristocracy (...well, not yet, anyway). I understand the original name may have been bit of a joke, but I think we ought to address that small detail before this optimistic space nation gets much bigger.

Shouldn't this be "Asgardia: The Space Democracy"? Or "Asgardia: The Space Nation", or "Asgardia: The Space Commonwealth"?

Hello Asgardia!

WE NEED YOUR HELP.

We at VOA believe we've come up with a solution for the Parliamentary candidate issue. Many of us don't even know who is running in our own districts, so we've devised a plan: Give the candidates a chance to explain their platform, in their native language, and we will not only make the files available for immediate public streaming, we will broadcast them on the radio.

CANDIDATES:
Please follow the instructions on the sheet. Limit your platform discussion to two minutes in length, in your district's language please. (YES, you don't have to speak English unless you're running for the English district.)

PATRONS:
Do you know of someone who is running? Tag them or share this! The more candidates we can get involved the bigger of a success story it can be, but that power lies in your hands. SHARE THIS EVERYWHERE!

The Platform:
Once a candidate has emailed their sound file, we will upload it directly to our Soundcloud account, which will make it available for On-Demand streaming; we will also put the file in our general rotation to be played on the air.

Thank you for supporting us in this endeavor, and happy holidays from Voices of Asgardia.