"Significant Science Return" - To actually run a Science-Fair quality
experiment in space, once per mission.

"Mishap that grounded all shuttle flights" - A godawful disater based
on fundamental design flaws and operating short-cuts that killed
ANOTHER 7 astronauts but curiously didn't impact on NASA's consciousness.

(C'mon folks, if you can swallow THIS statement in the press release,
the rest must be pure mother's milk)

"Several of NASA's partners have expressed concern" - They were
already furious at the scandalous lack of progress. They are now as
likely to offer more money to ISS as they are to help "police" Iraq.
Maybe they will ask for their money back, but if they have any sense
they will write off the whole "hole-in-space" and go back to real
space science. Maybe the Chinese are interested?

"The number of crew should be based on the demands of experimentation,
and nothing more," - The number of crew should be based on what we can
negotiate with Russia, given that we have sworn not to pay any money
for flights. Experimenters would be well advised to learn to read
cyrillic. Note that with 3 seats per Soyuz, there will NEVER be more
than 2 Americans on the ISS, and usually 1 or less.

"The next flight might not occur until later" - The next flight will
NOT occur until MUCH later, if at all. In fact, If I didn't need the
money, I would throw in the towel now...

"The shuttle remains an experimental vehicle" - the shuttle is a
dangerously unsafe, horrendously expensive and unsustainable vehicle.
If we had an alternative, we would use it tomorrow, but we don't
because we mortgaged everything on the Shuttle and ISS. Maybe I can
obfuscate for long enough for a new space "plane" (oddly wingless and
capsule-like) to materialise from the same syatem that lost hundreds
of billions of dollars in X-planes that never got close to getting off
the ground.

"It will remain an experimental vehicle probably until the day it's
retired" - I think it has flown its last flight, but if I wait 18 months to admit it, we get an extra $10 billion in operating funds.

No pretence at smileys. Deathly serious...