That first article is just nonsense. The south pole can't support life? It's been supporting humans for half a century. Can't protect against radiation? Live underground like Hamas did. Have to wait 9 months for food? We do that on Earth too - if you're hungry, call a farmer and ask him to plant some food then come back in a year or two when it's harvested. We solve that problem by pipelining it, just as you would on Mars.