Apparently NO computer or smart system is safe from hacking and the CIA tool kit is now out in the open for any 3rd party to use "Recently, the CIA lost control of the majority of its hacking arsenal including malware, viruses, trojans, weaponized "zero day" exploits, malware remote control systems and associated documentation. This extraordinary collection, which amounts to more than several hundred million lines of code, gives its possessor the entire hacking capacity of the CIA. The archive appears to have been circulated among former U.S. government hackers and contractors in an unauthorized manner, one of whom has provided WikiLeaks with portions of the archive." .."Once a single cyber 'weapon' is 'loose' it can spread around the world in seconds, to be used by rival states, cyber mafia and teenage hackers alike." Apart from spying activities tools are available and FREE to use for Commadn and Control functions ..so this is a very real threat to any sattelite of shield Asgardia may launch . Will we have the capability to defend from cyber attacks? "How the CIA dramatically increased proliferation risks In what is surely one of the most astounding intelligence own goals in living memory, the CIA structured its classification regime such that for the most market valuable part of "Vault 7" — the CIA's weaponized malware (implants + zero days), Listening Posts (LP), and Command and Control (C2) systems — the agency has little legal recourse. The CIA made these systems unclassified. Why the CIA chose to make its cyberarsenal unclassified reveals how concepts developed for military use do not easily crossover to the 'battlefield' of cyber 'war'. To attack its targets, the CIA usually requires that its implants communicate with their control programs over the internet. If CIA implants, Command & Control and Listening Post software were classified, then CIA officers could be prosecuted or dismissed for violating rules that prohibit placing classified information onto the Internet. Consequently the CIA has secretly made most of its cyber spying/war code unclassified. The U.S. government is not able to assert copyright either, due to restrictions in the U.S. Constitution. This means that cyber 'arms' manufactures and computer hackers can freely "pirate" these 'weapons' if they are obtained. "

Moon , Mars or Space station for Asgardians??? Timelines 15yrs+, 30yrs+ or 5 years + Can Asgardia afford not to have a program at the risk of becoming irrelevant and/or failure to establish any degree of credibility when all the space nations have plans and are leaning or actively engaged in military space programs.? Surely we need to set an example of another way.than National interest through militarisation of Space. "The space race heats up: Russia announces plans to fly nine tourists to the MOON by 2022" "BACK TO THE MOON According to former astronaut Chris Hadfield, we should be looking to go back to the moon before making the giant leap to the red planet. He says we don't yet have the technology or capabilities to safely make the trip to the Mars and should instead aim to live on the moon for 'generations' before. 'The next logical destination? It's obviously the moon as its just three days away,' Hadfield told MailOnline in October. Former astronaut Ron Garan, who authored the book The Orbital Perspective, also thought we should go back to the moon before Mars. 'The most logical and important step [to get to Mars] will be to build an infrastructure between Earth and the moon, and have a permanent human presence on the Moon,' he told MailOnline. And in March this year Theoretical physicist Dr Orfeu Bertolami from the University of Porto completed a study that found there was no feasible way of getting to Mars any time soon. 'Despite what people say, we are a long way from reaching Mars,' he told MailOnline. 'I see no way of reaching Mars in five decades.' Japan russia and china all have ambitions to build a lunar base and more worrying from this Feb 22nd 2017 article "India and Japan, too, have developed impressive space expertise. Whilst they have traditionally upheld their commitment to use space for peaceful purposes, both are increasingly leaning towards military space programmes. This is with a view of offsetting the threats posed by regional competitors, predominantly China and North Korea..

Posted here as well as Education for maximum exposure ..coz it's goooood :) for PC of phone and phone is a big deal. something fairly new for free Maths and science education The site

We have zero tolerance of profanity ..what the Frack...are we normal? " 74 percent of Americans surveyed said they hear profanity in public frequently or occasionally. Another two-thirds believe that foul language is more common than it was 20 years ago. the f word Sixty-four percent of Americans say they do, in fact, use the "F-word." Just how often does the average American swear? The poll found that 64 percent of people use the F-word (8 percent of which use it several times a day)." "So what, if anything, is wrong with some occasional use of "colorful" language? Well, for starters people who curse when it's not necessary are often considered less intelligent and less credible than those who do not. Further, according to the Cuss Control Academy in Lake Forest, IL, swearing: Makes you unpleasant to be with Endangers your relationships Reduces the respect people have for you Discloses a lack of character Shows you don't have control Sets a bad example Has lost its effectiveness Lacks imagination Contributes to the decline of civility Represents the dumbing down of America Offends more people than you think Is abrasive, lazy language" BUT "Can Swearing be a Good Thing? According to researchers from the University of East Anglia in Norwich, U.K., absolutely. They found that "social" or "annoyance" swearing can make the workplace more pleasurable and even strengthen bonds between employees. "Taboo language serves the needs of people for developing and maintaining solidarity and as a mechanism to cope with stress," said Yehuda Baruch, a professor of management at UAE. "Banning it could backfire." While social swearing was found to promote a sense of "oneness" among employees, swearing out of annoyance was an effective "relief mechanism" for stress, replacing more "primitive physical aggression." Of course, even social swearing has its limits. If swearing becomes excessive or verbally abusive, it becomes a form of bullying." So what is asgardia policy on profanity? Occassional ok? excessive or abusive NOT ok? The point...the complete absence of profanity suggests we "tread on eggshells" and are not truly open in our communication and opinions, always overly guarded on being politically correct. Whilst some could be offended is it a human right to use profanity.. ..I suggest it certainly is.

Would our leaders wish to send official congratulations and offer support? FEB 2nd 2017 "The establishment of the Philippine Space Agency (PSA) is now slowly taking shape after Pres. Rodrigo R. Duterte approved a proposal for a 10-year Space Development Program (SDP) with a funding of P24 billion." "What a lot of us Filipinos do not realize, however, is that space is an all-encompassing field that goes back to fundamental things, to the most crucial aspects of our lives. The many uses of space go back to agriculture, disaster management, environmental management, national security, and economic development, among others." "The cost of space Currently, the functions of a space agency are spread throughout different government agencies. The lack of one agency to unify space-based functions can be costly. For example, there have been instances when different government agencies would purchase satellite images of the same area. This duplication in purchases stems from the lack of coordination among agencies, leading to unnecessary expenses that do not come cheap. According to a baseline research done by the Manila Observatory, the Philippine government spends at least P3.5 billion a year just to acquire such images and make use of other space-based capabilities from foreign providers. However, estimations on developing our own space program and agency are pegged only at P2.5 billion a year." When opportunity knocks..open the door can we offer more than moral support? Could a symbiotic relationship be formed? btw they alkready have 1 sattelite launched in 2016. ADD..unofficial FB page with 4yrs history of progress " <

"European Space Agency, who monitor thousands of nearby stars, asteroids and comets, says it is highly unlikely that any sizable space object will hit earth during the next half-million years. " "there are many claims and reports of people being hit by a meteorite but most of those claims could not be verified, except that of American Ann Hodges who was injured by a meteorite in Sylacauga, Alabama in 1954. Which means that there is no record of a person being killed by a meteorite." So we know that in the next 10,000 years the likelihood of a major impact casusing death is small but the potential danger is recognised and the USA in particular has a program to research and start a testing defence capability ( which probably advances another objective on being the #1 space power) However we do know that - 1.3 million people die each year from road accidents and 20-50 million are injured/disabled. Much work is going on with self driving vehicles etc. to reduce this toward 1 to 10% of these figures over the coming decades "Annual Global Road Crash Statistics Nearly 1.3 million people die in road crashes each year, on average 3,287 deaths a day. An additional 20-50 million are injured or disabled. More than half of all road traffic deaths occur among young adults ages 15-44. Road traffic crashes rank as the 9th leading cause of death and account for 2.2% of all deaths globally. Road crashes are the leading cause of death among young people ages 15-29, and the second leading cause of death worldwide among young people ages 5-14. Each year nearly 400,000 people under 25 die on the world's roads, on average over 1,000 a day. Over 90% of all road fatalities occur in low and middle-income countries, which have less than half of the world's vehicles. Road crashes cost USD $518 billion globally, costing individual countries from 1-2% of their annual GDP. Road crashes cost low and middle-income countries USD $65 billion annually, exceeding the total amount received in developmental assistance. Unless action is taken, road traffic injuries are predicted to become the fifth leading cause of death by 2030." We also know that "Mosquito-Borne Diseases Mosquitoes cause more human suffering than any other organism -- over one million people worldwide die from mosquito-borne diseases every year. " 10's of millionms more suffer but recover . We also estimate that "Hunger and World Poverty About 21,000 people die every day of hunger or hunger-related causes, according to the United Nations. This is one person every four seconds, as you can see on this display. Sadly, it is children who die most often. " thats over 7 million a year ( yes there is some overlap with malaria) but the numbers even if debatable are BIG! We also have estimates that 10's of millions are displaced every year and 200,000+ KNOWN deaths from conflict and 1.2 billion are continuosly adversley affected. "The study found the number of displaced people exceeded 50 million in 2013. It warned that civilian populations continue to pay the price of conflicts in short-term dislocation and the longer-term impact of the collapse of government services, particularly education, healthcare and economic development. The World Bank estimates that 1.2 billion people, roughly one fifth of the world’s population, are affected by some form of violence or insecurity." So with all these issues together affecting milions of Earths population compared to the probability of death /injury from asteriod/meteorite impact ..do we have the correct balance in our near term goals??? What and where can Asgardia make a significant difference using Tech? How much effort and resources should be put toward current Earth issues? Is the Primary objective of protecting all humanity well served or credible if we are not active,significant and productive in some of these areas?

So commercial moon mining is becoming a current issue but obviously the Corporations think it is doable or they would not invest. "Will moon mining be BANNED? " Not a chance!! The USA appears to think all they need to do is license and regulate making sure that commercial missions comply with COSPAR and other articles of the Space treaty to meet their obligations under the Treaty.( but what they mine is theirs).Good enough???????? Brian J. Egan Legal Adviser Galloway Symposium on Critical Issues in Space Law Washington, DC December 7, 2016 " The proposed legislation would establish a “Mission Authorization” framework for those non-governmental space activities for which the existing licensing frameworks for launch, communications, and remote sensing are not sufficient for full implementation of our Article VI obligations. At its most recent meeting, the Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee adopted a finding that the absence of a clear mechanism for implementing the United States’ Article VI obligations “has resulted in a lack of stability, predictability, transparency and efficiency, which has and will continue to hinder the development of U.S. commercial space activities.” The Administration’s proposal for a Mission Authorization framework to provide such a mechanism has been generally well received by industry stakeholders as an efficient, narrowly tailored solution that provides the necessary predictability for investments in path-breaking space activities." Failing that position being accepted Internationally there are a few options One is to eventually withdraw from the Treaty "3) These deep puzzles are mostly irrelevant in my example because Article XVI of the Outer Space Treaty does expressly specify that a state party can withdraw by giving notice a year before such withdrawal. One doesn't need the Vienna Convention on Treaties to see that under the plain language of the Outer Space Treaty, that makes withdrawal a ready option." Another is to use a surrogate country not a party to the Treaty and there's a lot of choice there Yet another and initially the most likely is negotiating a New Treaty ( over the next few DECADES} that expressely and undisputably allows Commercial expoitation of Space for profit and all major space Nations are likely to sign up to that but unelss it is vastly better for them than what already exists there is no rush as the lack of existing clarity works in their favour!!! AS usual it's mostly about the Money, Money, Money from 2002 art "the "Moon Treaty," has also been opened for signature by the United Nations. However, due to its provisions prohibiting the ownership of natural real estate in space, the treaty was virtually ignored by the world community. Only nine countries have ratified it and just five others have signed it. The cold shoulders it received from the primary spacefaring nations have all but sealed its fate as an irrelevant document in the larger scheme of space development. Both of these treaties, the Outer Space Treaty and the Moon Treaty, have generated much discussion and speculation regarding the impact they might have on space, especially lunar, development. The problem with these discussions is that once an organization decides, for whatever reason, to begin extracting, processing and using or selling the lunar regolith, for example, it's very unlikely that either of these treaties will influence that decision." Space capable Nations will not be restricted by any treaty, they will either find a loop hole, make an image of complying or simply ignore if it does not suit their interests. Space mining will be the new "Gold Rush" over the next few decades and the first to exploit will get the spoils . The international community will have little influence on commercial activity of the big players but will have a (token?) role is shaping safety and enviromental concerns. Can we realistically expect more?

I will list a couple of favourties from decades ago which younger members may have not had the opportunity to be exposed to and enjoy CREAM.. The band is widely regarded as the world's first successful supergroup War of the Worlds live Tubular Bells Please add any outstanding moments Tnx

We should embrace and be leaders in this field "Science-fiction fans take heart — robots are finally about to take over the world. It won’t be quite like the blockbuster films, but it’s being predicted that by 2019 the global robotics market will exceed £100 billion worldwide. Increasingly, we will have service robots in our homes to carry out menial tasks, entertain us and take care of tedious admin. The market for such home-helpers alone is predicted to reach £19 billion in two years. Read more:

"much of the current excitement has been prompted by a new generation of complex, humanoid robots. These droids can do your dusting, entertain your children or play cocktail waiter at your parties — all while carrying on a witty conversation. Experts say similar robots could soon replace humans in many jobs, from nurse to estate agent. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4166054/We-test-new-breed-robots.html#ixzz4X1TUl0vB Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

Given that Moon exploration is being planned by russia , Japan, India and others in the next 3 years and rovers have limited range is it possible to fly a helicopter or microlite and drones on the Moon? Obviously this would cover greater areas and accumulate more data particlarly if they can land and grab samples . Power souces? solar? Lift capacities? specific design or adapted existing models? ADD ...can you send solar powered drones from an orbiting spacecraft to permanently stay on the moon and use programmed routes to map and sample the surface?

Obviously NOT including Top Secret launches and subject to change please add if you know others

" The Trump administration is preparing executive orders that would clear the way to drastically reduce the United States’ role in the United Nations and other international organizations, as well as begin a process to review and potentially abrogate certain forms of multilateral treaties." NYT Jan 25 Zero Hedge (with spin) "The USA supplies 22% of the UN budget and that looks as if it will come under serious threat under a Trump administration." Dec 22 post Is this the beginning of the end for the UN in its present form? ....Is this sabre ratteling to get the UN to come back under the control of US interests? Could certain functions like Space law and arbitration an increasingly important issue in the coming decades be led by a new body in order that the USA can contiue its competitive advantage , further its National interests and space defense and ignore the wishes of the world and mankind in general by , setting the agenda and "controlling" decicions and policy? Could Asgardia forsee the way this may play out, anticipate the results and lead as a neutral body to help to form a new international Organisation with USA China , Russia India Japan and the EU being the founding / council members Hers a list with Space agencies that may sign up eagerley if they can share some of the Tech what do we think? The big 3 with soft landing capabilities do not want to be at the mercy of the rest of the world in a UN body? If we wait until it happens it is too late to take an important role would it be better to be a founder/ leader in this ? views ? For reference UN OOSA UN space related resolutions An address by one of our founders? "by setting up of a seperate specialized agency for space" Nov 2016 /08.pdf

"The world is awash in bullshit. Politicians are unconstrained by facts. Science is conducted by press release. Higher education rewards bullshit over analytic thought. Startup culture elevates bullshit to high art. Advertisers wink conspiratorially and invite us to join them in seeing through all the bullshit — and take advantage of our lowered guard to bombard us with bullshit of the second order. The majority of administrative activity, whether in private business or the public sphere, seems to be little more than a sophisticated exercise in the combinatorial reassembly of bullshit. We're sick of it. It's time to do something, and as educators, one constructive thing we know how to do is to teach people. So, the aim of this course is to help students navigate the bullshit-rich modern environment by identifying bullshit, seeing through it, and combating it with effective analysis and argument. What do we mean, exactly, by the term bullshit? As a first approximation, bullshit is language, statistical figures, data graphics, and other forms of presentation intended to persuade by impressing and overwhelming a reader or listener, with a blatant disregard for truth and logical coherence. " http://callingbullshit.org/syllabus.html

I firmly believe Blockchain voting is the future of true representation of the people, Asgardia could use it to form laws and articles of the Constitution that truly represent the wishes of its Citizens with a very high degree of transparency and credibility to minimize doubt and argument over the process! Here is an interesting and credible example of how Government truly can represent the people. "Notably, the Flux Party will be free of its own policies, instead opting for its senators to vote for or against legislation at the bidding of token holders. New Australian Political Party Seeks to Popularize Blockchain Voting http://www.coindesk.com/australian-political-party-blockchain-voting/ Party co-founder Max Kaye told the news source: "If they didn't have to be senators, if they could just be software or robots they would be, because their only purpose is to do what the people want them to do." At election time, the bitcoin-like tokens would be issued to Flux members – as well as single-issue campaigners that support the party. The tokens can then be used either use to vote, trade with others or give to trusted third parties to carry out proxy votes. The results of the voting would be distributed proportionately – for example, with an 80% to 20% vote in favor of a bill, five Flux senators would vote for and one against." Here is a list of others trialing or promoting blockchain voting including NASDAQ, Russia , Abu Dhabi, Delaware http://www.coindesk.com/?s=voting If you are tech inclined here is an example of how it works .In the opinion of many this is akin to the technological leap of the invention of the wheel for true representation of peoples wishes and as such I believe Asgardia should have a working group formed to study/ trial and make recommendantions on whether or how it should be adopted https://followmyvote.com/online-voting-technology/blockchain-technology/ Add useful resource http://www.bitcongress.org/

On the reasonable assumption that the primary goals or Space Platform, Space Law , UN recognition and digitising the Noosphere are the sphere and responsibility of less than 5% of Asgardias citizens who are qualified in those areas what can the 95% majority do other than suggest a few ideas that the 5% may want to look at. Here are some options which are centered on making life easier and more affordable for people in our communities. Regional can form groups with central support in the following areas 1 Increasing partial self suffinciency in Food production on local levels objectives - raise personal food production to 30% + of requirements as a first target in cities and 50% + in rural areas. How.... Bio intensive and local farming programs and education taught and supported by Asgardia. Waste management of resources and local supply education and support. Target all countries to reduce food expenditure to sub 10% of income. Research on Robotics , AI and tech to continually reduce the cost and waste of food in production, post harvest, distribution, storage and marketing ( prior to Post scarcity agriculture in a decade or two) Cooking methods and recipies that minimize the use of fuel and /or are particularly healthy. We can trial in a few areas to establish proof of concept. Campaign to give each citizen the option to use (part of their rightful share) of national land for living and food security. this goes against Asgardia non interventionist statement but it is up to Citizens to decide if this is a worthy goal to reduce poverty and hardship. Links http://www.growbiointensive.org/grow_main.html http://www.vox.com/2014/7/6/5874499/map-heres-how-much-every-country-spends-on-foodhttp://www.vox.com/2014/7/6/5874499/map-heres-how-much-every-country-spends-on-food target an average food spend of maximum 10% of average income within a decdade. Currently less than 10% of the worlds population are fortunate enough to be in that position. This is something that can have serious impact on millions of people and I believe Asgardia can play an important role should we wish to embark on this path http://cdn0.vox-cdn.com/assets/4715062/food_expenditures_and_malnutrition.png https://www.bing.com/search?q=bio+intensive+agriculture&pc=MOZI&form=MOZTSB For those lucky enough to have access to 2,000m2 there are projects like this which need emulating but even if their area is smaller it can go a long way to subsidize food costs and with advances it may well reduce to 500m2 which btw should be given (to use only, use it or lose it) to all adults by the Govt when they reach 18yrs old in my personal opinion https://www.2000m2.eu/ There are many resources on the web that cover these topics. plans including funding requirements and roll out programs are the 1st step here and will be tailored to regional realities on the ground.so regional may wish to submit that for their respective areas. 2 Tool , agri equipment, child and toy libraries.NON profit.... ever bought a tool to use once or twice as you are too shy or lazy to ask to borrow one? or bought the wrong one . In the UK tool rental has long been a very successful business https://www.hss.com/hire regional gropus can organize a sharing system where nominal fees are all that is required for participation and use. Finance and debt Move to end debt slavery...this is another complicated topic so I wil just mention it here with a couple of links and probably make it a seperate topic at a later date http://endoftheamericandream.com/archives/debt-slavery-30-facts-about-debt-in-america-that-will-blow-your-mind http://charleshughsmith.blogspot.com/2016/10/welcome-to-neocolonialism-exploited.html Summary 1 get people to grow a large percentage of their food and reduce waste to increase ( for now ) disposable income percentages > have governments give people the USE of their fair and rightful share of the land 2 Make life less expensive to live by sharing idle things and encouraging less "wasted" expenditure often from debt with interest 3 Work to remove debt slavery and the money lenders grip on the population. and if we have to start with one lest do #1 first. Add ......to put into context approx 21,000 people die daily from hunger/ hunger related causes or 7 million + pa. http://www.poverty.com/ ,1,3 million die in road traffic accidents , 250,000 in the US alone from medical errors ( solvable with Tech) and none of these people can be protected with a space shield as they are gone. I support the space shield but interim there is a lot Asgardia can do using technology to reduce these effects on humanity