NASA's Muslim outreach: Al Jazeera told first, SF Examiner'

"Lawmakers across Capitol Hill, both Democrats and Republicans, were surprised to learn recently that the Obama administration has made reaching out to Muslim nations a top priority for the space agency NASA. They will probably be more surprised to learn that administration officials told the Middle East news organization Al Jazeera about it before they told Congress."

Keith's note: Oh how lazy we all are. ESPECIALLY the media. Use Google, once in a while. You might learn something.

NASA plans more outreach to Muslim countries, 16 Feb 2010, OrlandoSentinel

"NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden said Tuesday that President Barack Obama has asked him to "find ways to reach out to dominantly Muslim countries" as the White House pushes the space agency to become a tool of international diplomacy. "In addition to the nations that most of you usually hear about when you think about the International Space Station, we now have expanded our efforts to reach out to non-traditional partners," said Bolden, speaking to a lecture hall of young engineering students."

Exciting Developments in Space Exploration and the Future of International Cooperation Remarks by NASA Administrator Charles F. Bolden American University in Cairo, 15 June 2010

"Soon after President Barack Obama stood in Cairo, just over one year ago, and spoke of Partnership between the United States and Muslims around the world, he asked NASA to change that ratio by reaching out to "non-traditional" partners and strengthening our cooperation in the Middle East, North Africa, Southeast Asia and in particular in Muslim-majority nations."

We must not discard greatest innovator in history, Walt Cunningham, Houston Chronicle, 27 Feb 2010

"In the place of the canceled Ares and Orion hardware, we now have increased support for education, increased spending on the discredited global warming hypocrisy and subsidies to several new commercial rocket companies. And, oh yes, don't forget a new outreach program to Muslim countries without established space programs."

Video: Rep. Posey Rips NASA Initiative to Reach out to "Muslim" Countries, earlier post

Taking Space Exploration Beyond Traditional Partnerships, earlier post

Senate Panel Near Agreement on Bill to Roll Back NASA Changes, NY Times

"The bill, which lays out the direction of the nation's space program for the next three years, would add at least one more space shuttle flight, speed development of a heavy-lift rocket and move ahead with building a spacecraft to venture beyond low-Earth orbit. It would also slow down a rush to invest in commercial rockets by requiring companies to demonstrate their capabilities before receiving large contracts for delivering astronauts to the International Space Station, said a staff member who was not authorized to speak for attribution."

If you watch Al Jazeera, you know Obama's new mission for NASA: To help Muslim nations 'feel good', LA Times

"You know how Wile E. Coyote straps himself to the rocket and lights the fuse? And it burns. And burns. Silence. Nothing. He's poised, hopefully, awaiting launch. We wait, painfully, for the bad thing certain to happen. That's what we've been doing for almost a week now, anticipating the explosive public reaction to word from NASA chief Charles Bolden that President Obama has tasked his once-fabled space agency with a brand-new earthbound mission that has absolutely nothing to do with space."

The final frontier: Muslim self-esteem, National Post

"The earliest Islamic civilizations placed a high value on science and learning while Europe was going through the self-inflicted lobotomy of the Middle Ages. Only the most fierce Muslim-hater will pretend otherwise. But it speaks to the priorities of the current White House administration that even while NASA's manned exploration programs are cancelled and America's military space efforts fall behind due to lack of funding, the best and brightest of America's scientific minds find themselves turning to the task of making a billion people feel better about themselves."

NASA now means 'No Air or Space Anymore', Daily Caller

"So, why isn't Bolden heading up the Peace Corps if he's in the "help them feel good" business?"

Cal Thomas: The right stuff goes wrong under this president, Cal Thomas, Slat Lake Tribune

"Obama is boldly going where no president has gone before. It is a continuation of the president's subjugation of himself (bowing to foreign leaders) and the country he is charged with leading by obsequiously kowtowing to a people for whom advancement to the Middle Ages would be a step up."

Correcting the Record About My Divorce, Elon Musk, Huffington Post

"Given the choice, I'd rather stick a fork in my hand than write about my personal life. Unfortunately, it seems that I don't have any other option. Several awful things have been widely reported that are simply false, but a falsehood uncorrected may as well be truth. I really wish there were not this level of attention directed towards personal matters in the first place, but the legal filings in a California divorce are public information, my ex-wife (Justine) is an extremely prolific blogger, and certain journalists seem to have a creepy fixation on my personal life. Much as one may wish for privacy, in the 21st century it just doesn't exist."

Keith's note: Posting items of a personal nature such as this would normally go well beyond the boundaries of what I consider to be appropriate for NASA Watch. But given that prominent news publications have made frequent, and so it would seem, inaccurate references to Elon Musk's personallife while trying to "report" on SpaceX, I felt that Elon needed a chance to respond to these inaccuracies via NASA Watch.

USRA Welcomes the First UAE Student Interns to NASA's Education Associates Program, USRA

"Under a 3-year agreement between NASA and the non-profit Arab Youth Venture Foundation (AYVF), up to 12 UAE students per year will be participating in the EAP. The initial group of three students (Shamma Al Qassim, Hazza Bani Malek, and Hamad Rajab) arrived in mid-June to begin a 10-week internship at NASA's Ames Research Center. The students will be working on a variety of projects including the space shuttle and International Space Station, deep space missions, solar system exploration, and aeronautics research."

NASA's Astronaut Corps: Status of Corrective Actions Related to Health Care Activities, NASA OIG, 6 July 2010

"NASA Had Not Taken Actions to Address Two Recommendations. At the time of this review, NASA Headquarters had not addressed the recommendation from the Safety and Mission Assurance report to implement a NASA-wide alcohol testing program because no NASA official had been assigned responsibility to address the issue."

"NASA Was Unable to Address One Recommendation. NASA was unable to address a Committee recommendation that it fully integrate behavioral health information derived from psychological testing evaluations into the final selection process of astronaut candidates if the information is found to be useful."

- NASA Fact Sheet on the Findings of the Astronaut Health Care System Review Committee, earlier post from 2007
- NASA JSC Internal Assessment of Medical Practices after Nowak Incident, earlier post from 2007
- NASA Astronaut Health Care System Review Committee February - June, 2007 Report to the Administrator, earlier post from 2007
- Opening Remarks on Astronaut Health Reports by NASA Deputy Administrator Shana Dale, earlier post from 2007

"Wish You Weren't Here: Obama uses NASA to reach out to the Muslim world, while plans to build more mosques in America spark outrage."