Obama's devastating Nasa cutsOpen letter: Neil Armstrong, James Lovell and Eugene Cernan urge Obama not to forfeit US progress in space explorationNeil Armstrong, James Lovell and Eugene Cernan guardian.co.uk, Thursday 15 April 2010 Article history Neil Armstrong on the moon, 1969The United States entered into the challenge of space exploration under President Eisenhower's first term, however, it was the Soviet Union who excelled in those early years. Under the bold vision of Presidents Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon, and with the overwhelming approval of the American people, we rapidly closed the gap in the final third of the 20th century, and became the world leader in space exploration.America's space accomplishments earned the respect and admiration of the world. Science probes were unlocking the secrets of the cosmos; space technology was providing instantaneous worldwide communication; orbital sentinels were helping man understand the vagaries of nature. Above all else, the people around the world were inspired by the human exploration of space and the expanding of man's frontier. It suggested that what had been thought to be impossible was now within reach.Students were inspired to prepare themselves to be a part of this new age. No government programme in modern history has been so effective in motivating the young to do "what has never been done before".

World leadership in space was not achieved easily. In the first half-century of the space age, our country made a significant financial investment, thousands of Americans dedicated themselves to the effort, and some gave their lives to achieve the dream of a nation. In the latter part of the first half century of the space age, Americans and their international partners focused primarily on exploiting the near frontiers of space with the space shuttle and the International Space Station.As a result of the tragic loss of the Space Shuttle Columbia in 2003, it was concluded that our space policy required a new strategic vision. Extensive studies and analysis led to this new mandate: meet our existing commitments, return to our exploration roots, return to the moon, and prepare to venture further outward to the asteroids and to Mars. The programme was named "Constellation". In the ensuing years, this plan was endorsed by two presidents of different parties and approved by both Democratic and Republican Congresses.The Columbia Accident Board had given Nasa a number of recommendations fundamental to the Constellation architecture which were duly incorporated. The Ares rocket family was patterned after the Von Braun Modular concept so essential to the success of the Saturn 1B and the Saturn 5. A number of components in the Ares 1 rocket would become the foundation of the very large heavy lift Ares V, thus reducing the total development costs substantially. After the Ares 1 becomes operational, the only major new components necessary for the Ares V would be the larger propellant tanks to support the heavy lift requirements. The design and the production of the flight components and infrastructure to implement…

   From The Times of London September 24, 2009   Russia opens door to sanctions on Iran

Charlize Theron: 'My whole career has been proving people wrong' Her stunning looks could easily have pigeonholed her as a bombshell-for-hire. But Charlize Theron has shown that she's far more: character actor, Oscar winner, producer. But she still finds nude scenes 'quite liberating', bless her. James Mottram is rather dazzled   Saturday, 7 March 2009   Radiating a beatific calm, Charlize Theron has just turned a man to jelly. Much to my disbelief, a colleague has just stood up at the Venice press conference for Theron's latest film, The Burning Plain, and propositioned the statuesque South African. "Which side of the bed do you sleep on?" he asks, rather impertinently. "The side that you're not on," she quips back, a look of disbelief slowly crossing her face. She takes pity on him, though. "You're very cute," she purrs. "But my boyfriend will kill you. I'm married. I'm taken. He's really hot too." She pauses for a second, her mind ticking over, before adding: "How much money do you have?" In just a few seconds, Theron has revealed three things. First, that she has a sense of humour, something not immediately apparent when perusing a CV bulging with heavyweight films – most notably Monster, which won her the Best Actress Oscar for playing the real-life serial killer Aileen Wuornos. Second, that she now considers herself married to her long-term actor-boyfriend Stuart Townsend in all but name. Third, that she's a gold-digger. Actually, of course, this last statement is utterly untrue. As Paul Haggis, the writer-director of last year's post-Iraq drama In the Valley of Elah, testifies, Theron is not in this business to get rich quick: "I called Charlize and said, 'I want you to do this. There's no money.' She said, 'OK, I'm in.'" Now 33, Theron is that rare breed of actress. Smart, ambitious and canny, she is the sort of formidable opponent you'd want on your team. She plays this down, naturally, when we meet up for a more intimate chat. "I have my moments," she says, her eyes lighting up. "I'm just a human being like you. I'm intelligent but intelligent people make mistakes." True enough, though Theron has also spent years fighting the age-old stereotype: that being blonde and beautiful means you can't have an opinion or be truly talented. "My whole career has been proving people wrong," she says. She has a point. Making the leap from part-time model to one of the most respected actresses of her generation is like crossing the Grand Canyon on stilts. Films such as In The Valley of Elah and the sex-discrimination drama North Country, which won her a second Best Actress nod at the Oscars, have more than proved that Theron wants to be taken seriously. There have been missteps – notably the disastrous comic-book tale Aeon Flux that she made directly after winning the Oscar for Monster. But for the most part Theron has trodden carefully, desperate to avoid a return to the…

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