This was published 7 years ago
Barack Obama sets the date for humanity's mission to Mars
Every Monday to Friday I'll be delivering a personally-curated newsletter. Call it the double espresso of news – the morning news kickstart for busy people who want to know what they need to know before they get going.
By Latika Bourke
1. Obama's mission to Mars
President Barack Obama has written an opinion piece for CNN pledging America will send humans to Mars and back by 2030 with the ultimate ambition for man to one day "remain there for an extended time". [Read]
Critically, Obama says the private sector and government will work together to achieve the goal and says within two years, private companies will for the first time send astronauts to the International Space Station.
The two companies preparing to send men into space are SpaceX and Boeing and also likely to partner on the mission to Mars. [Daniel Etherington/Techcrunch]
2. Trump's tweetstorm
And now to just one of the many reasons humans may want to consider decamping to Mars by the 2030s. (Can it be any sooner many might ask?!)
Donald Trump took to his Twitter to to rip into Paul Ryan in a string of tweets as "weak and ineffective" after the House Speaker said he could no longer support his party's nominee. [BBC]
Then, he followed up with a tweet saying "It is so nice that the shackles have been taken off me and I can now fight for America the way I want to." [Donald Trump/Twitter]
Three things. Trump is successfully diverting from the tapes with his tirade against the Republican party and the schism confirms he hijacked the party for the nomination.
"We now essentially have…an independent candidate" for President, and his name is Trump, writes Gerald F. Seib. [Wall Street Journal]
And in this latest tweetstorm, "Trump seems to be preemptively making an excuse for losing." [Andrew Prokop/Vox]
And in a further sign Trump is retreating to talking only to his base, he released a new attack ad targeting Hillary Clinton's health. [Ben Kamisar/The Hill]
3. Russia at risk of becoming Pariah nation
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has warned Russia it risks becoming a pariah nation if it continues on its path in Syria. And he noted that war criminals have been successfully prosecuted decades later.
The headline take-out from his contributions in Parliament however is his call for the Stop the War Coalition to protest outside the Russian Embassy. They are noticeably absent, he said. [BBC]
The Russian Embassy in the UK responded on Twitter.
As MPs in the House of Commons held an emergency debate on Syria, Russian jets resumed pounding Aleppo.
4. Australian politics
My colleague Matthew Knott has another cracking story on school funding. He reports Catholic schools in wealthy suburbs are being funded by up to four times more than they should under a deal struck during the dying days of the former Labor Rudd government. [Fairfax]
A government agency report into cyber attacks and security to be released today says terrorists could hack Australian government networks within three years.
Junior Minister Dan Tehan says this would be to "destructive effect." [The Australian]
Security experts say Malcolm Turnbull should abandon living in his Point Piper mansion. (Something he should have done for pure political reasons, let alone security concerns). [The New Daily]
Australia and Singapore are "natural partners" writes the PM. [Financial Review]
The plan to install 14,000 Singaporean troops in Queensland will be cemented when Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong addresses Parliament in Canberra, writes Philip Coorey and Primrose Riordan. [Financial Review]
Legislation for a plebiscite on gay marriage will still go to the Senate even though it is doomed, as is the prospect of a free vote in Parliament with a Nationals MP threatening to defect, writes Michelle Grattan. [The Conversation]
And my Aus-pol must read today is Aaron Patrick's detailed read on former Prime Minister Tony Abbott's challenge to Turnbull to reform in the NSW Liberal party. [Financial Review]
5. Samsung's catastrophe
After issuing its worldwide recall for the Note 7s last month, Samsung has completely scrapped production of its new Galaxy Note 7. The company lost $20 billion in value following the announcement. The overall cost could be as much as $17 billion. [Se Young Lee/Reuters]
Interesting report in the Financial Times suggesting the fast-charging processing technology is behind the battery fires. [Song Jung-a, Tim Bradshaw]
And of course this is all good news for Samsung's rivals Apple and Google who have just announced new phones ahead of the Christmas shopping season. [Bloomberg]
6. Pass Go….to Canberra!
Look. I love Monopoly. Its been my favourite game ever since Mum first let us loose on her beautiful old wooden board edition, which came complete with all the tokens and well-used, sometimes torn money bills packed up into an old tin - the sort you used to be able to buy biscuits in.
It was one of the upsides of being one of eight children - most of the time, and I say most, you could find someone to play with you.
As I've grown older, my stock of monopoly playing friends has dwindled to about…zero. Everyone refuses to play with me and I don't understand why. I think its healthy to be competitive, even when it comes to board games.
Anyway, I loved this story by Natasha Rudra about Hasbro is renovating its Australia edition. This year there are five Canberra nominations for a spot on the board, including…Canberra itself.
The others are Lake Burley Griffin, the Australian War Memorial, Floriade and Questacon! [Canberra Times]
I'm a bit of traditionalist when it comes to Monopoly and have always been a bit sceptical about these country-specific editions. If its a choice between Pentonville and Floriade, I'm afraid I'm all for the former.
If only I could find someone to play with me!
And that's it from me today, you can follow me on Facebook for more.