Via NASA Watch, an interesting article about SETI:

Denounced a decade ago as a misguided effort to find "little green men" and cut off from government funding, SETI, which stands for search for extraterrestrial intelligence, has found a new following among Silicon Valley titans and techies elsewhere who are interested in space. They have infused the institute with money and unconventional technical ideas, bringing a new respect and energy to the organization. Some argue that being cast away by the federal government was the best thing that could have happened to SETI, that it has become stronger and more innovative in the private sector than it ever could have as part of a public bureaucracy.

More of this, please, particularly for human spaceflight.

White Knight and x-37 news...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8008541/

I've given money to SETI each of the last five years. They're not only an organization with a great purpose, they run a very slick money raising and donor-contact program. Happy to support 'em.

it has become stronger and more innovative in the private sector than it ever could have as part of a public bureaucracy

That's true of most things.

(Shhhhh. Don't tell the politicians.)

Personally, I think the chance of success of SETI is very small, so I have given no support to it.

If I *were* doing SETI, I'd be looking for type-III civilizations at cosmological distances. These would have the best chance of evading the Fermi argument, since a colonization wave may not have had time to get here yet.