Topic: Gateway

NASA and Administrator Jared Isaacman have announced a pivot from the orbiting Lunar Gateway station to a permanent base on the moon's surface by 2028. This $20 billion project is part of a broader space ecosystem involving private contractors like Firefly, focusing on orbital data centers and lunar infrastructure.

NASA is pivoting its Artemis program toward establishing a permanent base on the lunar surface, with a target launch date of April 1st. The "Lunar Gateway" station, already partially built in orbit, will be repurposed to support long-term human habitation and scientific research. This move is seen as a response to China's goal of establishing its own moon base by 2030, sparking a new 21st-century space race.

Cardinal Robert Sarah of Guinea has emerged as a viral favorite among conservative and anti-globalist Catholics following the illness of Pope Francis. Media outlets including The Telegraph and The Gateway Pundit have identified Sarah as a potential "anti-woke" successor to the papacy. The hosts analyze his sudden rise in visibility and his reputation as a traditionalist alternative to the current Vatican leadership.

The Biden administration has begun leasing National Park Service lands, such as Floyd Bennett Field in New York, to house thousands of migrants. Critics at a House Committee on Natural Resources hearing argued that using federal lands for housing lacks necessary infrastructure like sewage and electricity and threatens natural biodiversity. Park Police officials expressed concern that they are understaffed to manage the safety of both the public and the migrants.

The European Union's Global Gateway investment plan includes the construction of mRNA vaccine factories in Rwanda and Senegal. This initiative, supported by the G7 and the Biden administration, aims to manufacture "world-class" medical technology within Africa for local and global distribution.

John C. Dvorak explains the "convoluted" plan for the Artemis program, which involves establishing a space station called the Gateway in lunar orbit. The hosts compare the complexity of this mission to the Apollo era and discuss the potential for competition or cooperation between NASA and Elon Musk's SpaceX for future Mars missions.

NASA videos highlight the challenge of protecting the Orion spacecraft from the intense radiation of the Van Allen belts, a hurdle that must be solved before crewed deep-space missions. Plans for a "Lunar Gateway" space station are criticized for their high cost, estimated at $4 billion per launch. Skeptics question why these technical challenges are being presented as new problems 50 years after the Apollo missions.

A satirical column once claimed that Sioux Falls, South Dakota, was changing its name to "Gateway City" in exchange for promotional fees from Gateway 2000. The story included a fictional spokesperson named "Lurpa Slurff"—April Fools spelled backward—and was reported as front-page news by local newspapers. The incident highlights how digital archives now make such pranks problematic as they resurface in search results years later.

In the Canadian Parliament, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was criticized for a $200 million taxpayer investment in Gateway Casinos, a company with "junk" status. Trudeau responded with "Pence-like" deflections, focusing on Thanksgiving and the pandemic rather than the financial specifics of the casino deal. The opposition accused the government of throwing away money on "casino insiders" while thousands of energy sector workers lose their jobs.

Cal from Lavender Blossoms reported that PayPal, Stripe, and Square are banning CBD-related businesses from their payment gateways due to federal banking regulations. The hosts suggested adopting BTC Pay Server for Bitcoin transactions as a long-term solution to financial de-platforming. A satirical suggestion was made to rename the business "Black Lives Matter Lavender Blossoms" to bypass corporate censorship.

Adam Curry and John C. Dvorak open episode 1229 of the No Agenda show on March 29, 2020, broadcasting from Austin, Texas, and Silicon Valley. They discuss the status of the Zephyr train and express gratitude toward truck drivers and IT professionals maintaining internet bandwidth during the early COVID-19 lockdowns. The hosts introduce the theme of the episode as "Counting Masks."

Dane Jasper describes the typical fiber installation process, involving an Optical Network Terminal (ONT) and a residential gateway. He encourages customers to use Sonic-supplied routers for better security patching and remote troubleshooting, citing recent threats like "VPN Filter." However, he acknowledges that advanced users may prefer to manage their own networks using tools like Raspberry Pi or custom firewalls.

John C. Dvorak recounts his past April Fool's pranks that landed him in the Hoax Hall of Fame, including a story about Senator Patrick Leahy banning "drunk surfing" on the internet. Another hoax involved a claim that Gateway Computers was buying the city of Sioux Falls to rename it "Gateway City." Dvorak explains his method of using the name "A. Lirpa Sloof" (April Fools spelled backward) as a hint for readers.

A discussion regarding a Pew Research Center "Web IQ" quiz criticizes the simplicity of the questions and the accuracy of the scoring. The conversation shifts to the increasing prevalence of online gateways that require users to answer survey questions before accessing articles.

The hosts react to a CNBC segment featuring Governor Jerry Brown and a debate over the marijuana industry. They mock the "gateway drug" argument, jokingly claiming that marijuana is actually a gateway to becoming a podcaster.

The hosts argue that the internet was never "neutral" and grew through complex peering and transit agreements. One host shares a personal grievance with Comcast, claiming the ISP shapes traffic to favor businesses during the day and only provides full speed to residential "users" after 5:00 PM.

The DEA hearing continues with claims linking marijuana use to schizophrenia and psychosis in young people. The director argues that social media and songs send a message that the drug is harmless. The hosts mock the revival of the "gateway drug" theory and the "this is your brain on drugs" egg commercial imagery.

The rapid 90-second police response to the Aurora theater shooting and the subsequent establishment of a command center at a local high school are questioned. The necessity of a massive staging area after the suspect was already in custody is presented as a potential procedural anomaly or "dress rehearsal" for larger civil unrest.

The show concludes with a PBS NewsHour clip featuring a reporter at Gateway High School in Aurora. The reporter describes the scene where witnesses were interviewed by the FBI and families gathered to find missing loved ones. The hosts sign off, promoting the start of their summer tour.

The "gateway drug" theory is debated, with the hosts citing scientific studies that have debunked the concept for decades. They compare marijuana criminalization to the failed era of alcohol prohibition and advocate for a regulated market to undermine criminal gangs.