Saturday, April 17, 2021

R.I.P. 
Felix Silla, Actor Who Played Cousin Itt on The Addams Family Dead at 84

Silla also had roles in Return of the Jedi and Spaceballs

Felix Silla as Cousin Itt in The Addams Family


Alex Young 
APRIL 16, 2021 |

Felix Silla, who famously portrayed Cousin Itt on the 1960s TV sitcom The Addams Family, died Friday (April 16th) at the age of 84 from pancreatic cancer.

Silla was never actually seen on The Addams Family during its two-season run between 1964 and 1966. Rather, the 3’11” actor wore a full-body hairpiece, sunglasses, and a bowler hat. He was also unintelligible to the audience, as his rapid gibberish could only be understood by The Addams Family members themselves.

Due to his small stature, Silla also landed roles in Return of the Jedi as an Ewok, in Spaceballs as a Dink, and in Buck Rogers in the 25th Century as the robot Twiki. Silla also voiced Mortimer Got in The Sims 2 video game.

Prior to his career in acting, Silla was a trained circus performer who toured with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.


2 Arrested Friday Night During March to Demand Justice for Adam Toledo

Published April 17, 2021 • 




Two people were arrested Friday night, police said, among the thousands who marched throughout Chicago's Logan Square neighborhood to demand justice for Adam Toledo, one day after the release of body camera video showing an officer fatally shooting the 13-year-old.

Authorities said Anthony McCollom, 20, was charges with misdemeanor Reckless Conduct at approximately 9:55 p.m. He was part of a large crowd observed pushing Chicago Police, according to officials.

At approximately 9:45 p.m., Graham Lefauve, 18, was on a bicycle and split into a vehicle of Chicago police, striking one of the officers, authorities said. The Cook County State's Attorney's office denied his charge of felony Aggravated Battery to a Police Officer for unknown reasons.

Earlier at a large rally at Logan Square Park, speakers called for the defunding and abolishment of the Chicago Police Department and pleaded with those in attendance to stay united in their fight against police.

"Why are we standing here today when that baby had his hands up, telling a cop not to shoot?" one speaker said. "...Why do they keep killing us then asking us to stay calm?"

As music filled the air, protesters chanted: "What we do want? Justice! When do we want it? Now! If we don't get it? Shut it down!"

Speakers also listed the names of others who were fatally shot by Chicago police officers, and called for justice in their cases.

"We got to feel this pain for every single person that is shot and killed by the police," one person said. "We must feel this pain."

A number of streets were closed and CTA buses were rerouted as a result of the marches late Friday.

Adam's death sparked calls for a release of body camera footage and other materials, and the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, Chicago's police oversight agency, responded to those calls by releasing the information on Thursday.

Body camera footage shows Adam running from a Chicago police officer down a Little Village alley on March 29. Adam starts to turn toward the officer, and is in the process of putting his hands up when the officer fires his weapon once, striking the teen in the chest.

It did not appear in video that Adam was holding a weapon when he was shot. A weapon was discovered behind a fence shortly after he was shot, according to the footage released by COPA.

Following the video's release, a number of protesters expressed outrage in demonstrations across the city Thursday evening, with many calling for charges to be filed against the officer who shot and killed the teen.


ELON MUSK’S SPACEX HAS WON A $3 BILLION NASA CONTRACT TO PUT HUMANS ON THE MOON – BUT THE FULL MISSION WILL TAKE FAR MORE THAN THAT


Andrew Griffin@_andrew_griffin
14 hours ago

Nasa has chosen SpaceX to build the lander that will carry humans onto the Moon for the first time in decades.

Elon Musk’s rocket company has been chosen to build the human lander that will drop those astronauts onto the lunar surface. It will do so as part of the Artemis programme, which not only aims to put the first woman and person of colour on the Moon – but now the first commercial lander, too.

The contract is worth $2.89 billion to SpaceX, and Nasa noted that total price is fixed and dependent on reaching certain milestones.

But really the cost of the lander is just the start – or perhaps the end – of a programme that will cost far more, and involve vastly more complexity.

The newly-awarded contract is specifically for what SpaceX and Nasa refer to as the “human landing system”, or HLS, which does exactly as its name says.
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It will take the form of a SpaceX Starship – which is still in testing, and exploded in its last two most recent attempts – which will be specifically designed to land on the Moon. It will make use of the well-established SpaceX raptor engines and borrow on work done for the Falcon and Dragon vehicles that are already used today.

“Starship includes a spacious cabin and two airlocks for astronaut moonwalks,” Nasa said in ist announcement. “The Starship architecture is intended to evolve to a fully reusable launch and landing system designed for travel to the Moon, Mars, and other destinations.”

But to get close enough to drop onto the Moon, the astronauts will have to escape Earth first. They will do that using Nasa’s Space Launch System rocket, a vast vehicle with the power to propel astronauts away from Earth and towards the Moon, with costs nearing $19 billion already and which will cost billions for each launch

The actual journey to and from Moon will happen in another partnership with a private company: the Orion spacecraft, which is being built by Lockheed Martin and Airbus. Just like with the Apollo mission, that will stay hovering over the surface of the Moon as the lander carries astronauts down to the surface, before they climb back into it and journey back to Earth.

All of that will also work in tandem with the Lunar Gateway, Nasa’s plan to build a space station in the Moon’s orbit that will support the Moon missions – providing communications, storage and more for the trips to the surface


It is all of that taken together that makes up the Artemis programme. And it means that the cost – and time – quickly adds up to much more than the $2.9 billion spent on the lander.

The full cost is likely to be some $86 billion by 2025, according to a report from the Nasa Office of Inspector General published in February this year. Those costs accounts for everything involved in the project, including the lander as well as the launch system and other requirements.

(Nasa OIG)

All of that is supposed to take humans to the Moon by 2024, according to a target set by Mike Pence as vice president and still promoted by Nasa. But that target is looking unlikely: its own reports have suggested that it might miss its schedule, largely because of funding shortfalls.

While the total number sounds large, it is relatively small in comparison to the the costs to take humans to the Moon the first time: The Planetary Society estimates the cost of the total effort to get to the Moon was around $28 billion in actual spending, or roughly $280 billion accounting for inflation.

Supporters of the programme argue that those costs should not be seen as being lost in space: the money was spent down on Earth, funding research, engineering and work that moved through the economy in the US and beyond.

Nasa also notes that the benefits are present on Earth, too. The consequences of the Apollo missions can be seen in everything from supermarket foods to the end of a marathon: it brought digital flight controls, food safety protocols, space blankets and hearing aids.

It also argues that the same results will come from the Artemis programme. It will require the building of new technologies including research into ways to extract useful materials – water, oxygen and rocket fuel but also the sometimes valuable substances that make up the Moon itself – from the lunar surface.

“Technology created for Artemis will certainly find secondary applications on Earth,” the spac agency wrote in 2019. “And it will enable a new economy in space.

“Finally, the mission architecture itself — rocket and capsule, surface modules, spacecraft that will ferry astronauts to and from the lunar surface, and all the technology that enables sustainable operations on the Moon — is a test bed for humanity’s next great leap – sending astronauts to Mars.”


SpaceX’s $3 Billion NASA Win – Did Blue Origin Self-Disqualify Itself?


The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) awarded a $2.9 billion contract to Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) yesterday for the second phase of the agency's plan to develop a lunar lander. This lander will form the backbone of NASA's Artemis program, which seeks to return humans to the Moon, and SpaceX bid its Starship spacecraft for the proposal.

Following the award, NASA shared its Source Selection Statement highlighting the rationale behind its decision. NASA's associate administrator human exploration and operations mission directorate (HEOMD), Ms. Kathryn Leuders evaluated the award proposals for HLS. In the statement, she has highlighted the reasons behind the decision to move forward with SpaceX for the second stage of the contract, which requires the company to demonstrate crewed and uncrewed landings on the lunar South Pole.

SpaceX To Use Solar Powered Moon Lander For NASA’s Historic Missions

SpaceX Leveraged Its Success With Crew and Cargo Missions To Ensure NASA Bid Win

NASA evaluated the second-phase proposals submitted for the Human Landing System (HLS), the agency's official name for the lunar lander, by SpaceX, Blue Origin and Dynetics according to three criteria. These considered their design, price and management merits, and the big reveal in the selection statement is SpaceX being able to secure an 'Outstanding' rating for its management capability.

In the previous evaluation for the first-phase proposals NASA had deemed this capability as being merely 'Acceptable.' However, in a surprising turn of events that catapulted SpaceX right at the top of the Management food chain, the company received the highest rating for this factor in the selection statement approved by Ms. Leuders yesterday.

The primary factors behind NASA's rating upgrade took into account SpaceX's success with its missions to the International Space Station (ISS), its decision to allow full NASA insight into Starship development and the choice to fund the bulk of Starship development costs.

Specifically, SpaceX's plan to "replicate and utilize management processes, toolsets, and software that have been effectively employed on other, similar programs" will allow NASA to accurately track HLS development progress. Problems with the agency being able to track development have caused problems with its Space Launch System (SLS) program, and SpaceX leveraged its operational culture to convince NASA for a rating upgrade.

SpaceX's latest render for its lunar lander reveals an upgraded design with solar panels, which played a crucial part in its selection by NASA for the Artemis program. Image: SpaceX

Similarly, SpaceX has also agreed to let NASA monitor the development of the Starship program as a whole. While the Starship lunar lander will use the platform's upper stage, certain design features such as aerodynamic surfaces (wings), engines, solar panels and landing legs will differ between the two. Importantly, the lunar lander will use Starship's first stage Super Heavy booster and tanker spacecraft for refueling, and the insight offered wooed NASA since "SpaceX’s HLS effort and its development of commercial spaceflight capabilities are inextricably intertwined" according to associate administrator Leuders.

SpaceX Surprised By High Liquid Oxygen Levels In Rocket Prior To NASA Crew Launch

Two of these three factors (Stars funding and ISS mission experience) were favorably viewed by NASA in last year's evaluation. However, back then, the agency had also cited previous Crew Dragon and Falcon Heavy development delays as raising risks for the lunar program. Now, it seems as if by providing NASA with greater insight into the Starship program, SpaceX has won over the agency's confidence for these risks.

A rapid test cadence in Boca Chica, Texas, has bolstered confidence in the program, as SpaceX tested its first Starship prototype, SN8, a little over 24 hours after it submitted the final HLS proposal to NASA.

These benefits were absent from Blue Origin and Dynetics' assessments. The former's decision to work with Lockheed Martin Corporation and Northrop Grumman for its Integrated Landing Vehicle was viewed favorably by NASA. Still, its inability to satisfy the agency for data sharing and intellectual property infringement was viewed unfavorably. The latter's plans for commercialization secured NASA's approval but its inability to schedule risk mitigation was a source of worry for the space agency.

The Starship SN8 prototype during landing as one of its engines reignites. Re-ignition was a key non-NASA testing parameter that was successfully met during the prototype's test in December last year. Image: SpaceX/Twitter

Dynetics Falls From NASA Grace As Company Exceeds Weight Thresholds and Fails To Provide Key Technical Details

For its technical evaluation, NASA assigned Blue Origin and SpaceX an 'Acceptable' rating and Dynetics a 'Marginal' rating. SpaceX and Blue Origin retained this rating over the previous assessment, but surprisingly, Dynetics fell from 'Very Good' to Acceptable.

Starship impressed NASA with its cargo volume, its support for more extravehicular (EVA) missions than the proposal required, interior design for efficient cargo space allocation, the ability to loiter in lunar orbit for 100 days, redundant airlocks with separate life support and environmental support systems and excess propellant for emergencies and consumables.

The vehicle's design similarities to the Crew Dragon and SpaceX's plan to allow Starship to support four crewmembers independently and an aggressive testing cadence, also won NASA's favor in the technical evaluation.

However, just as it had in the previous statement, the agency cited its doubts about SpaceX's plan to refuel Starship in Earth orbit before its lunar foray and its propulsion system design. Yet, since the refueling will take place in Earth orbit, NASA also believes that its threat to the mission is reduced. SpaceX allayed the agency's concerns for the propulsion system development by providing a detailed development schedule, something absent from the other proposals. Furthermore, since NASA's crewed Orion launches will occur after Starship has departed, the agency believes it will have leeway to accommodate any mission delays due to the in-orbit refueling.

A SpaceX presentation slide from 2019 demonstrating in-orbit Starship refueling. The spacecraft on the right is the standard Starship variant, different from the company's Human Landing System proposal. Image: SpaceX

Blue Origin also exceeded NASA's requirements for EVAs and the ILV is also capable of loitering in the lunar orbit. The company's focus on crew safety, a theme present in its other vehicles and impressed NASA, and the ILV's ability to separate its descent element from the ascent element is a crucial safety factor that won the agency's approval. The ILV comprises of three elements, the ascent, descent and transfer elements, and the ascent element is the one that houses its crew.

The biggest weakness of the Kent, Washington-based company, however, was its supply chain management. It will procure components of the ILV's propulsion system with long lead times from a third-party supplier, and Blue was unable to schedule their certification and validation to meet its propulsion critical design review later this year, according to NASA. Additionally, the fact that Blue will not test critical propulsion systems until 2024, which is when the first HLS mission is set to take, created doubt in the agency's mind as to whether it will be able to meet the contract timeline requirements.

Another significant weakness identified by NASA was that four of the six ILV communication links, such as those to Earth and to Orion, were not 'closed.' A closed link uses sender feedback to assure the receiver about message integrity.

As the associate administrator noted:

Blue Origin’s communications link errors would result in an overall lack of ability to engage in critical communications between HLS and Orion or Earth during lunar surface operations. I am troubled by the risks this aspect of Blue Origin’s proposal creates to the crew and to the mission overall.

A render of the Integrated Landing Vehicle (ILV) in lunar orbit. The transfer, descent and ascent elements are visible from left to right. According to Blue Origin's proposal, the three elements will launch separately from Earth and assemble themselves in lunar orbit. Image: Blue Origin

Blue Origin Exceeds Several Proposal Requirements, Woos NASA With Strong Management Proposal But Fails To Meet Proposal Compliance

Yet, the proposal's disqualifying weakness was not its technical or management weaknesses. After all, NASA rated Blue's management strengths and its "thoughtful" organization structure as  significant strengths; The agency was impressed by the company forming 'badgeless' teams with representatives from the three ILV program members to manage the overall system, stating that these "types of badgeless environments constitute a true organizational partnership across Blue Origin and its major subcontractors."

According to NASA, Blue Origin's proposal was ineligible for the contract award since the company requested advance milestone payments against the contract instructions. Ms. Leuders explained that due to these payments, an award would be impossible unless NASA negotiated with Blue to allow the company to revise its proposal to meet the HLS solicitation requirements.

She also stated in a footnote that she would be willing to negotiate with the company if its proposal was beneficial to the government.

Her precise words are as follows:

While it is also the case that Blue Origin’s proposal is not awardable as-is in light of its aforementioned advance payments, this is an issue I would endeavor to allow Blue to correct through negotiations or discussions if I otherwise concluded that its proposal presents a good value to the Government. This, however, is not my conclusion.

However, since SpaceX had already won nearly all of NASA's funds for the HLS, the agency decided not to pursue further negotiations with Blue Origin. Leuders alsoSpaceX’s $3 Billion NASA Win – Did Blue Origin Self-Disqualify Itself?

By Ramish Zafar

Apr 17, 2021 16:02 EDT

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The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) testing its RS-25 engines for the Space Launch System (SLS) in March this year. The SLS will form the backbone of the agency's Artemis program and take astronauts onboard the Orion spacecraft to a lunar space station from which they will board a Space Exploration Technology Corp.'s (SpaceX) Starship lunar lander to make it to the Moon's surface. Image: NASA TV


The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) awarded a $2.9 billion contract to Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) yesterday for the second phase of the agency's plan to develop a lunar lander. This lander will form the backbone of NASA's Artemis program, which seeks to return humans to the Moon, and SpaceX bid its Starship spacecraft for the proposal.


Following the award, NASA shared its Source Selection Statement highlighting the rationale behind its decision. NASA's associate administrator human exploration and operations mission directorate (HEOMD), Ms. Kathryn Leuders evaluated the award proposals for HLS. In the statement, she has highlighted the reasons behind the decision to move forward with SpaceX for the second stage of the contract, which requires the company to demonstrate crewed and uncrewed landings on the lunar South Pole.


SpaceX To Use Solar Powered Moon Lander For NASA’s Historic Missions


SpaceX Leveraged Its Success With Crew and Cargo Missions To Ensure NASA Bid Win

NASA evaluated the second-phase proposals submitted for the Human Landing System (HLS), the agency's official name for the lunar lander, by SpaceX, Blue Origin and Dynetics according to three criteria. These considered their design, price and management merits, and the big reveal in the selection statement is SpaceX being able to secure an 'Outstanding' rating for its management capability.


In the previous evaluation for the first-phase proposals NASA had deemed this capability as being merely 'Acceptable.' However, in a surprising turn of events that catapulted SpaceX right at the top of the Management food chain, the company received the highest rating for this factor in the selection statement approved by Ms. Leuders yesterday.


The primary factors behind NASA's rating upgrade took into account SpaceX's success with its missions to the International Space Station (ISS), its decision to allow full NASA insight into Starship development and the choice to fund the bulk of Starship development costs.


Specifically, SpaceX's plan to "replicate and utilize management processes, toolsets, and software that have been effectively employed on other, similar programs" will allow NASA to accurately track HLS development progress. Problems with the agency being able to track development have caused problems with its Space Launch System (SLS) program, and SpaceX leveraged its operational culture to convince NASA for a rating upgrade.



SpaceX's latest render for its lunar lander reveals an upgraded design with solar panels, which played a crucial part in its selection by NASA for the Artemis program. Image: SpaceX

Similarly, SpaceX has also agreed to let NASA monitor the development of the Starship program as a whole. While the Starship lunar lander will use the platform's upper stage, certain design features such as aerodynamic surfaces (wings), engines, solar panels and landing legs will differ between the two. Importantly, the lunar lander will use Starship's first stage Super Heavy booster and tanker spacecraft for refueling, and the insight offered wooed NASA since "SpaceX’s HLS effort and its development of commercial spaceflight capabilities are inextricably intertwined" according to associate administrator Leuders.


SpaceX Surprised By High Liquid Oxygen Levels In Rocket Prior To NASA Crew Launch


Two of these three factors (Stars funding and ISS mission experience) were favorably viewed by NASA in last year's evaluation. However, back then, the agency had also cited previous Crew Dragon and Falcon Heavy development delays as raising risks for the lunar program. Now, it seems as if by providing NASA with greater insight into the Starship program, SpaceX has won over the agency's confidence for these risks.


A rapid test cadence in Boca Chica, Texas, has bolstered confidence in the program, as SpaceX tested its first Starship prototype, SN8, a little over 24 hours after it submitted the final HLS proposal to NASA.


These benefits were absent from Blue Origin and Dynetics' assessments. The former's decision to work with Lockheed Martin Corporation and Northrop Grumman for its Integrated Landing Vehicle was viewed favorably by NASA. Still, its inability to satisfy the agency for data sharing and intellectual property infringement was viewed unfavorably. The latter's plans for commercialization secured NASA's approval but its inability to schedule risk mitigation was a source of worry for the space agency.


SpaceX Starship SN8 landing 

The Starship SN8 prototype during landing as one of its engines reignites. Re-ignition was a key non-NASA testing parameter that was successfully met during the prototype's test in December last year. Image: SpaceX/Twitter

Dynetics Falls From NASA Grace As Company Exceeds Weight Thresholds and Fails To Provide Key Technical Details

For its technical evaluation, NASA assigned Blue Origin and SpaceX an 'Acceptable' rating and Dynetics a 'Marginal' rating. SpaceX and Blue Origin retained this rating over the previous assessment, but surprisingly, Dynetics fell from 'Very Good' to Acceptable.


Starship impressed NASA with its cargo volume, its support for more extravehicular (EVA) missions than the proposal required, interior design for efficient cargo space allocation, the ability to loiter in lunar orbit for 100 days, redundant airlocks with separate life support and environmental support systems and excess propellant for emergencies and consumables.


The vehicle's design similarities to the Crew Dragon and SpaceX's plan to allow Starship to support four crewmembers independently and an aggressive testing cadence, also won NASA's favor in the technical evaluation.


However, just as it had in the previous statement, the agency cited its doubts about SpaceX's plan to refuel Starship in Earth orbit before its lunar foray and its propulsion system design. Yet, since the refueling will take place in Earth orbit, NASA also believes that its threat to the mission is reduced. SpaceX allayed the agency's concerns for the propulsion system development by providing a detailed development schedule, something absent from the other proposals. Furthermore, since NASA's crewed Orion launches will occur after Starship has departed, the agency believes it will have leeway to accommodate any mission delays due to the in-orbit refueling.


Starship in-orbit refueling SpaceX

A SpaceX presentation slide from 2019 demonstrating in-orbit Starship refueling. The spacecraft on the right is the standard Starship variant, different from the company's Human Landing System proposal. Image: SpaceX

Blue Origin also exceeded NASA's requirements for EVAs and the ILV is also capable of loitering in the lunar orbit. The company's focus on crew safety, a theme present in its other vehicles and impressed NASA, and the ILV's ability to separate its descent element from the ascent element is a crucial safety factor that won the agency's approval. The ILV comprises of three elements, the ascent, descent and transfer elements, and the ascent element is the one that houses its crew.


The biggest weakness of the Kent, Washington-based company, however, was its supply chain management. It will procure components of the ILV's propulsion system with long lead times from a third-party supplier, and Blue was unable to schedule their certification and validation to meet its propulsion critical design review later this year, according to NASA. Additionally, the fact that Blue will not test critical propulsion systems until 2024, which is when the first HLS mission is set to take, created doubt in the agency's mind as to whether it will be able to meet the contract timeline requirements.


Another significant weakness identified by NASA was that four of the six ILV communication links, such as those to Earth and to Orion, were not 'closed.' A closed link uses sender feedback to assure the receiver about message integrity.


As the associate administrator noted:


Blue Origin’s communications link errors would result in an overall lack of ability to engage in critical communications between HLS and Orion or Earth during lunar surface operations. I am troubled by the risks this aspect of Blue Origin’s proposal creates to the crew and to the mission overall.



A render of the Integrated Landing Vehicle (ILV) in lunar orbit. The transfer, descent and ascent elements are visible from left to right. According to Blue Origin's proposal, the three elements will launch separately from Earth and assemble themselves in lunar orbit. Image: Blue Origin

Blue Origin Exceeds Several Proposal Requirements, Woos NASA With Strong Management Proposal But Fails To Meet Proposal Compliance

Yet, the proposal's disqualifying weakness was not its technical or management weaknesses. After all, NASA rated Blue's management strengths and its "thoughtful" organization structure as  significant strengths; The agency was impressed by the company forming 'badgeless' teams with representatives from the three ILV program members to manage the overall system, stating that these "types of badgeless environments constitute a true organizational partnership across Blue Origin and its major subcontractors."


According to NASA, Blue Origin's proposal was ineligible for the contract award since the company requested advance milestone payments against the contract instructions. Ms. Leuders explained that due to these payments, an award would be impossible unless NASA negotiated with Blue to allow the company to revise its proposal to meet the HLS solicitation requirements.


She also stated in a footnote that she would be willing to negotiate with the company if its proposal was beneficial to the government.


Her precise words are as follows:


While it is also the case that Blue Origin’s proposal is not awardable as-is in light of its aforementioned advance payments, this is an issue I would endeavor to allow Blue to correct through negotiations or discussions if I otherwise concluded that its proposal presents a good value to the Government. This, however, is not my conclusion.


However, since SpaceX had already won nearly all of NASA's funds for the HLS, the agency decided not to pursue further negotiations with Blue Origin. Leuders also wrote that following the SpaceX award, the remaining funds are so low that her agency "cannot reasonably ask Blue Origin to lower its price for the scope of work it has proposed to a figure that would potentially enable NASA to afford making a contract award to Blue Origin."


The author has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. NewAgeAds LLC has a disclosure and ethics policy.

 wrote that following the SpaceX award, the remaining funds are so low that her agency "cannot reasonably ask Blue Origin to lower its price for the scope of work it has proposed to a figure that would potentially enable NASA to afford making a contract award to Blue Origin."

The author has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. NewAgeAds LLC has a disclosure and ethics policy.


Just-In: Gary Gensler Sworn in as New SEC Chair, Will SEC Drop Ripple Case?
published 10 hours ago | modified 9 hours ago

Gary Gensler may be New SEC lead


Gary Gensler has been sworn in as the new Chairman of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), following his nomination by President Joe Biden and his subsequent confirmation by the Senate on April 14, 2021. Gensler, who succeeds former Chairman, Jay Clayton will lead the SEC for 5 years through 2026.
Gary Gensler New SEC Chief

Gensler, a former Goldman Sachs executive has had a stint at the United States Department of Treasury where he served as Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions from 1997 to 1999 and his role as a blockchain and cryptocurrency lecturer at MIT Sloan School of management has made many believe he will bring the long-sought reform not just to the broader market, but to the fast-growing cryptocurrency ecosystem.

Amongst the major challenges ahead of the 63-year old is the ongoing lawsuit with blockchain payments firm, Ripple Labs incorporated, as many anticipate a plausible scenario either where Ripple and the SEC might reach a settlement or where the commission will eventually drop the case which already appears to be going in Ripple’s favor after a series of small wins.

Gary Gensler is Pro Crypto


The nomination of Gary Gensler has been noted by many industry thought leaders as a positive turning point for the cryptospace as Gensler has been seen as a pro-crypto veteran who understands the needs of how blockchain works and its relevance in a dynamic financial world.

One of the most recent proofs of Gensler’s positive disposition to the cryptocurrency industry was reflected in his description of Bitcoin at his nomination hearing. As reported by Coingape, Gensler said Bitcoin (BTC) is “A Catalyst for Change,” adding “Markets—and technology—are always changing. Our rules have to change along with them.”

From Gensler’s perspectives as he informed the lawmakers, financial innovation, and by extension, crypto can be a force for good if harnessed under applicable laws to the benefit of every market stakeholder. Anticipation mounts that in Gensler’s era, the first Bitcoin ETF product will be approved which may likely lead to the launch of more products to draw in mainstream market investors.

Will the SEC Drop the Ripple Lawsuit?


The SEC lawsuit against Ripple was filed toward the end of December 2020 by former Chair, Jay Clayton. The merits of the inherited case by Gary Gensler have been faulted by many, as the timing was seen as undue by many. While the case as noted earlier has been tilted in Ripple’s favor with the court first, granting the firm access to SEC’s correspondence regarding its classification of Bitcoin and Ethereum as cryptocurrencies, and secondly by denying the commission access to the company executive’s personal financial records.

Gary Gensler did not start this war, but many believe with his nomination and confirmation as the SEC Chair, he has the powers to stop the war.

Pompeo's Used Employees for Dogsitting and Picking Up Takeout, Watchdog Finds

An investigation found the couple misused agency resources and violated federal ethics rules by making more than 100 personal requests of department staff

By PETER WADE


70th United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) Saturday, Feb. 27, 2021, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)


AP
Picking up takeout, taking care of the family dog, making Cheesecake Factory reservations, helping write a medical school recommendation for a friend and sending out Christmas cards are just some of the personal, non-work related tasks former secretary of state Mike Pompeo and his wife, Susan Pompeo, asked State Department employees to do for them while he was in office.

A State Department independent watchdog investigation, published on Friday, found that Pompeo and his wife misused agency resources and violated federal ethics rules by making more than 100 such requests to political appointees and other employees at the State Department.

Susan Pompeo made many of the unethical requests cited in the investigation. She assigned employees numerous tasks, and the employees told the investigators that they considered these instructions from her to be “at the direction of Secretary Pompeo” and she would often use language such as, “The Secretary would like you to… ” and “I have spoken with the Secretary.”

In one request, Susan Pompeo asked a career staff member to accompany her to pick up take-out food for a social event with Michelle Brechbuhl, the wife of State Department Counselor Ulrich Brechbuhl. “Michelle and I think Farmers, Fishers, Bakers is a good place for us to carry out dinner tonight. Michelle is willing to drive if one of you would just run in (that way… she won’t have to park!),” Susan Pompeo wrote in an email.

In another request, Susan Pompeo emailed a senior advisor and asked, “I’m wondering if we are sending the last of our personal [Christmas] cards out, who will be there to help me?” The employee then sent in a Senior Foreign Service Officer, who “came in on the weekend to envelope, address, and mail personal Christmas cards for the Pompeos.”

Pompeo denied the findings of the investigation, saying in a statement, “At no time did I, or my wife Susan, misuse taxpayer money or violate rules or ethical norms. Our actions were constantly reviewed by dozens of lawyers, and we made massive efforts, and did, comply with every requirement.”

But these chores and others “appear to have had no connection to official Department business,” the watchdog report said. These tasks were performed “during duty and non-duty hours,” the report said, but the Pompeos did not “reimburse the subordinate employees for their non-duty time when performing these tasks.” One employee told the investigators that she believed she had to carry out the tasks “as part of her official duties” and not merely friendly favors, which is how Pompeo tried to explain the requests when interviewed by investigators late last year.

The investigator general concluded that the Pompeos’ “requests were inconsistent with department ethics rules and the Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch.” According to the report, most of the fieldwork for this investigation was completed by August 2020, but Pompeo dodged requests for an interview for three months, which delayed the release of the report.