NASA planning humans in Low-Earth Orbit spaceflight

NASA is beginning to think about how humans can participate in future space opportunities in Low-Earth Orbit, or LEO.

The National Space Council, along with the Department of State and Commerce, are working reports that examine the challenges of human spaceflight and the potential economic contributions.

NASA and its collaboration interagency partners have four lofty goals in mind that include:

1. To achieve a continuous U.S. presence in LEO – both NASA astronauts and private citizens – in order to support the use of space by U.S. citizens, companies, academia, and international partners and to maintain a permanent American foothold on the nearest part of the space frontier.
2. To create a regulatory environment in LEO that enables American commercial activities to thrive.
3. To conduct human spaceflight research in LEO that will advance the technology and systems required for long-duration spaceflight systems, including systems for interplanetary travel and permanent space habitation.
4. To expand and extend commercial opportunity though international partnerships and engagement.

NASA will be focused on these exploration plans for the coming years as they work toward plans for commercial crews and long-duration human spaceflight systems.

More information can be found here. Let’s start the countdown to launch.

Ukraine savors independence, focus on economic revival

Ukraine is the second largest county in eastern Europe and is about the size of Texas when comparing to the United States, or about twice the size of Italy.

If you’re looking for it on a map, the bordering countries include Russia, Belarus, Poland and Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Moldova. After having been under Russian rule for years, Ukraine gained independence in 1991 and has been seeking democracy, prosperity and economic stability going forward for the past 27 years.

Although the Crimean Autonomous Republic, or the Crimea peninsula, is a part of the Ukraine, the Russian Federation returned in 2014, we’ll have to say this southern peninsula, along with about one-third of Luhans’k and Donets’k oblasts, is currently occupied by Russia. You can’t reflect on Ukraine for long and not think about the Chernobyl nuclear power station explosion in 1986 in the town of Pripyat, where a radioactive plume spread across Europe. Around 30,000 people were evacuated, and a little over 32 years later, the site remains inhabitable to this day, except for limited amounts of time.

Although not in a current conflict, Ukraine maintains the second-largest military in Europe and has the world’s third largest nuclear weapons arsenal. According to the Central Intelligence Agency World Fact Book, the military is composed of ground forces, high mobility assault troops, naval forces and air forces. There is a compulsory military service requirement of 20-27 years of age.

The Verkhovna Rada (Supreme Council) building in Kyiv is home to Ukraine's
450-member parliament. Photo credit: Central Intelligence Agency

Ukraine has a Semi-presidential republic form of government, with the current leader of state being Petro Poroshenko, who has been in power since 2014, with his term ending in 2019. This form of government calls for the leadership of the state and government to be separate. Therefore, Volodymyr Groysman, the prime minister elected in 2016, serves as head of government.

Ukraine by the numbers

Category	Statistics
Population	44.1 million
Capital City (Kiev)	2.96 million
Area in square miles	375,028
Achieved independence	1991
Government	semi-presidential republic
Currency	Hryvnia
Birth rate	10.3/1,000 population
Death rate	14.4/1,000 population
Language	Ukrainian 67.5%; Russian 29.6%
Dominant religion	Orthodox Christianity
Ethnic Groups	Ukrainian 77.8%; Russian 17.3%
Median age	40.6 years
Gross domestic Product (GDP)	$368.8 billion
Labor force	17.99 million
Unemployment	9.5 %
Telephone land lines	7.1 million
Telephone mobile subscribers	55.7 million
Internet users	23.2 million
Registered air carriers	17
Airports	187

Source: Central Intelligence Agency World Factbook

Approaching the Mariinsky Palace in Kyiv, the official ceremonial residence of the president of Ukraine. The palace is one of two magnificent Baroque buildings in Ukraine designed by the renowned architect Bartolomeo Rastrelli (the other is Saint Andrew's Church, in Kyiv).
Photo credit: Central Intelligence Agency

The capital city of Kiev, or Kyiv for the traditional spelling, with a population of around 2.96 million, is the seventh-largest city in Europe and has a time difference of seven hours ahead of Washington, DC. Since gaining their independence, the Ukraine has been striving for a better economy and it seems that U.S. investors are taking notice. With an abundance of natural resources, such as coal, metals and fossil fuels, along with an emerging hi-tech industry, Ukraine is moving forward to improve its business environment. The American Chamber, founded in 1992 and with offices in 44 European countries, is currently playing an important in promoting the Ukrainian economy.

Regarding the latter mention of technology, the Ukraine has gotten a reputation throughout Europe for being a haven for IT skills, with scores of programmers, engineers and outsourcing centers. Among U.S. firms utilizing Ukraine’s pool of IT talent, estimated to be around 90,000, Google and Oracle are leading the way. The founders of WhatsApp and PayPal have roots in the Ukraine, as well as Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak.

Even with the presence of Russia in the Crimean Peninsula, Ukraine seems determined to move forward toward economic revival by using its natural resources and strong IT presence to secure its place in world markets.

The #MeToo move sparked high-profile sexual assault cases

As I write this, it has been 27 days since acclaimed actor and comedian Bill Cosby started a three to 10-year prison sentence for sexual assault. About a year earlier, Harvey Weinstein, a film producer, was also in the news regarding sexual assault allegations. Most recently, Brett Kavanaugh, now a confirmed U.S. Supreme Court Justice, faced a dramatic hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee for allegations of sexual assault against three women.

It might can be said Weinstein’s allegations sparked the #MeToo movement involving high-profile figures. The Temin and Company, a boutique management consultancy firm, has created a database of 810 people accused of #MeToo related conduct, using the arrest of Cosby in December 2015 as a benchmark. According to Temin’s “#MeToo Index” research, the accusations range from the arts and entertainment sector and businesses to media and broadcasting, as well as colleges and universities.

Weinstein revelations spurred increase in public accusations

Month	Year	Accusations
June	2017	10
July	2017	10
August	2017	9
September	2017	11
October	2017	78
November	2017	119
December	2017	10

While the nation was focused on the Cosby sentencing and then the Kavanaugh hearings, October 5 rolled around as being one year since Weinstein’s allegations of decades of sexual misconduct. The Temin research shows sexual assault allegations increased following his public revelations.

Increase in accusations grow monthly after Weinstein

Month	Year	Accusations
April	2018	28
May	2018	39
June	2018	24
July	2018	39
August	2018	41
September	2018	35

As the allegations dominated the news cycles, various organizations and corporate boards were caught up in the shockwaves and consequences, forcing many to pay serious attention to the allegations and take some action against those being accused of sexual misconduct. The Temin report said it simply as “no one wants to be a #MeToo company.”

Most accusations from entertainment, politics, business

Month	Accusations
Arts & Entertainment	234
Politics and Government	192
Business	(including 40+in finance)159
Media and Broadcasting	114
Colleges and Universities	63

The #MeToo movement has grown into a powerhouse very quickly, and Temin believes narrative of victims sharing their stories and metrics, such as the data in this report, will help expose “long-hidden truths” of sexual assault. Temin also believes more and more organizations will investigate their corporate cultures and more incidents will be exposed.

Final resolutions of cases not still pending

Month	Accusations
Arrested (some before or after being fired)	75
Deceased (3 committed suicide)	18
Fired	146
Resigned	18
Retired	18
Suspended, or are on leave	55
Lost work (including entertainers or sports figures)/others	104
No repercussions	221

The Temin company, who also specializes in crisis, reputation, and culture management, concluded from their study that this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Emeli Sande': Lincoln Motor Co. profiles inspiring pianist

British singer and songwriter Emeli Sande' take a break from the piano for a playful moment during the filming of the Lincoln Journey series. (Photo courtesy of The Lincoln Motor Company)

The Lincoln Motor Company is more than about manufacturing fine automobiles. Here of late, the luxury brand of Ford Motor Company has been showcasing inspiring African-Americans who have big dreams of being successful.

Through their "The Journey" campaign, Lincoln seeks out entrepreneurs, artists and others who have followed their dreams in the African-American community.

One such person is Emeli Sande', a British award-winning singer and songwriter who loves creating music on the piano as she shared her "Journey of Unconditional Love" while being featured as the first artist in the program.

Sande' does not see her music as being commercial; she draws inspiration from the people around her and finds the experience incredible and humbling.

"When my fingers tough the keys, I can speak 10 more languages," said Sande'. "I hope the music will last longer than my life will."

The campaign will consist of seven videos and also include award-winning filmmaker Nelson George; award-winning director Kenny Leon; award-winning artist Danny Simmons; artist Afua Richardson; photographer Terrence A. Reese; and acclaimed couture designer Bobby Joseph.

Their stories will be chronicled on the "Lincoln Now" storytelling platform, which will also take an insiders look at artisans and craftspeople in the fields of art, design, fashion, cuisine, engineering and more.

The series will also be available on Lincoln's social median channels, including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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Lupita Nyong'o: Oscar winner is the face of gratitude

I mostly dozed through the 86th Academy Awards in my favorite easy chair, but I'm glad I was awake for that special moment when Lupita Nyong'o won her Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in the film "12 Years A Slave," which also won the best picture award.

The naps came as the film "Gravity" gathered Oscar after Oscar for best film editing, visual effects, cinematography, original score and several others. I think the film deserved them all, as it is one great piece of work, especially for someone who likes technology. But when it was time for best actress, it was time to wake up. If you haven't seen "12 Years a Slave," it's worth the effort to get to the nearest theater or movie rental kiosk. The dramatic film by Director Steve McQueen, with screenwriting by John Ridley, deals with a part of slavery not widely known to most people – the fact that a free African-American living the good life in New York during that time period could be thrust into slavery and treated like an animal. It happened to Solomon Northup in 1841, where he spent 12 years on a cotton plantation in Louisiana.

That where Nyong'o, the star of the 2014 Oscars in my book, comes into play with powerful acting and humbling emotions for "just a piece of soap" in one of the many scenes that couldn't be ignored be the Academy judges. The Mexico-born actress, who was raised in Nairobi, Kenya, seemed to have used every ounce of her Yale University drama acting skills to bring the story of Patsey, a slave who was said to have picked 500 pounds of cotton a day.

There were a lot of stars taking the walk to the stage to receive their Oscar that night – Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto for "Dallas Buyers Club," Cate Blanchett for "Blue Jasmine" – but none did it as graceful as Nyong'o. With her flowing "Nairobi Blue" dress clutched in each hand, Nyong'o took to the stage in a way that left few dry eyes in audience. It was the most gratifying acceptance of an Oscar that I had ever witnessed. During her speech Nyong'o spoke from the heart in a poetic way that left me teary-eyed.

I'm sure we have not seen the last of Nyong'o. I think her future is bright and in her own words, her "dreams are valid."

The world has discovered Lupita Nyong'o.

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Russia gets parliamentary approval to use troops in Ukraine

The Russian Parliament has given Russian President Vladimir Putin the approval to use military force in the Crimea peninsula territory of the Ukraine.

Ukraine is the largest country in Eastern Europe that borders Russia and several other countries, with crucial grain exports, natural gas and other manufacturing sectors. The capital city of Kiev is the largest city and the country maintains the second-largest military fleet in Europe.

Russia's interest in the region include a lease agreement to keep Russia's Black Sea Fleet in Sevastapol, with operations also in other parts of the region, such as Crimea and Krasnodar Krai, Russia.

U.S. President Barack Obama has warned Moscow that an invasion of Ukraine by Russia would be a clear violation of Russia's commitment to respect the independence and sovereignty and borders of Ukraine and of International laws. Obama has said "there will be costs."

The latest news reports says the Russian Parliament wants the U.S. Russian Ambassador recalled as a further test of diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Russia.

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FEC weighs in on political advertising for mobile devices

The future of political advertising on mobile devices is being threatened by a recent ruling of the Federal Election Commission, or FEC, that says mobile phones cannot incorporate shorter disclaimer messages.

Revolution Messaging, a Washington, DC, mobile strategy firm, is challenging the FEC on their decision and says the action will cost campaigns money, while also limiting the use of mobile ads on handheld devices.

"The Democratic FEC commissioners have no sense of technology available to today's political campaigns," said Keegan Goudiss, Revolution Messaging's partner and head of digital advertising. "They are employing 20th century logic to 21st century campaigns."

According to Revolution Messaging, they were misled by the FEC commissioners after an initial hearing, where they (FEC) said there would be a compromise with a shorter disclaimer. While Republican commissioners felt there was not a need for a disclaimer and would settle on an alternative, the company said Democratic commissioners changed their minds and rejected that approach.

The exemptions from disclaimers offered by the FEC, which included bumper stickers, buttons, pens, water towers, skywriting and other objects, also caused the Revolution Messaging officials to be surprised that handheld devices were viewed differently. In addition, company officials believe the FEC has struggled with issues related to digital technology.

But Revolution Messaging was deemed critical in the FEC's decision to allow donations via SMS and also challenged the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)  to define text message regulations in order to halt political test message spam.

Because of the FEC's ruling, Revolution Messaging officials believe the ruling does nothing to deter bad players in the political arena and will only penalize the good players with higher costs in getting their message across.

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