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marianna

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jbwelda

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Nikkei
I don't want to shame them into giving away their fortunes. I want them taxed. Not sure how it could work to tax someones income retroactively, but it's got to make up for the last 40 years.

Well man, I would sure put a whole heap of people before Sir Branson in that line. One particular chump comes immediately to mind.

And I believe I read somewhere an article about how Branson proudly pays his taxes and does not go near all the way he could in legal tax evasion and reduction. Thats both his various enterprises and himself personally...I trust you understand the difference before you bring up the taxes issue, it sounds from your post like maybe you do not.


As an aside, these are not necessarily "toys". Think for a second about the actual uses of near space access for medicine and world survival in the face of global climate change. Not to mention a million other things. This isn't some clown doing this because hes got nothing else to do. Yes there is the commercial oh-ah about selling tickets to "near space" but like Marcus Garvey taught, sometimes you have to make money to cover expenses if you want to get where you think you need to go.


jb

Did it ever occur to you that the increasing use of space travel will contribute to global warming? From the mining of materials to the burning of fuel, creation of space junk, etc. None of it is good for global warming or the environment in general, especially if it becomes more widely available.

I'm afraid marianna that the cost of realising space travel is only a fraction of the cost of producing junk stuff like rediculous toys for children, not needed household material, all kinds of fancy additions to cars (what about the overheated choices in types of cars, TV sets, indoor house decorations, etc., etc.). We often don't have a clue of the rediculous, really not needed choices in material we face every day. All that airline travelling we did around the world (me too) before corona put us on our feet again.
Thrown away overproduction of food (shipping it to poor countries? No sir).

The knowledge we get from modern space travel will eventually (maybe) help the human race survive for a little (in terms of space"time") longer ...

I'm a GHOST living in a ghost town

[twitter.com]

"those who attack space
maybe don’t realize that
space represents hope
for so many people"

is a recent poem by Elon Musk. He might appear clueless but he's actually selling a pipe dream to his investors and people that seem to have given up hope for retaining a livable environment here on earth. It's genuinely hard to figure out if he believes in his own proposals, but his influence on his followers is quite real.

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skytrench

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GasLightStreet
The discourse regarding Richard Branson is ridiculous. What he's involved in is an issue? There is so much going on every day to make what he's doing or has done with "going into space", whatever, so minute, that it's ridiculous.

And if those that are contriving up such a storm of judgement, why aren't you concerned with such everyday issues?

So fake. FAKE.

Are you saying we should not discuss his "going into space" when that's the subject of the thread? Maybe you missed the point, but he's planning on developing space tourism, not just a one take.

Why don't you create some threads about everyday issues like ignorance, intolerance, arrogance or aggression...maybe these topics are less fake to you?

No. Discuss away. The problem is the assumptions and judgmentalism. I don't need to create some threads about everyday issues, they're being talked about in this thread anyway, and just like with politics, it won't change a thing. Besides, you just responded with what I was talking about. If these two don't do it, someone else will, and some people will have issue with it and claim things like 'it's contributing to global warming' etc. Their one trip isn't going to melt a glacier.

10 trips a month? 120 trips a year? That's different. Given the fuel burning etc it's probably much closer to the normal 180,000 planes in the sky per day pre-COVID air pollution.

Planning on space tourism... not much different than using a Sharpie to change a hurricane forecasted path. Maybe it is a good idea. Just how realistic is it? It's not like buying a car. You know what will happen, though - one screwup and it will get shut down. All of it. It hasn't happened. Financially it sounds like a nightmare.

Good one, I agree with your post GasLightStreet, in the bigger scheme of things, it's not a big deal. I still feel it's a ridiculous project with little to gain and the resources used could be better applied elsewhere.

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skytrench
Good one, I agree with your post GasLightStreet, in the bigger scheme of things, it's not a big deal. I still feel it's a ridiculous project with little to gain and the resources used could be better applied elsewhere.

The whole resources thing. Here are some that get me - car races. Whatever it is, Indy 500, etc. Jets flying over outdoor stadiums for whatever. Powerboat races.

Those are things that happen much more often. Compared to (normal) airline flights per day? I dunno. 180,000 airplanes - that's just the commercial jets - that's a lot of fuel.

Think about that. How many gazillion things are made of plastic? Yet... 180,000 airplanes A DAY. That's 5.4 million flights a month.

Every single thing we do or use requires oil. It's astounding. Yet it doesn't run out. Alas, what goes up must come down... at least on Earth, anyway, and we're in the middle of it happening.

If you could go back in time and tell someone in 1978, dude, in 2021 you can walk around with a computer in your hand, that fits in a pocket, and not only watch tv and videos and movies on it but listen to music, read books, talk to people, either with your voice or by typing, take pictures and record video and look at radar and (I do have the app) see where airplanes are and even which ones they are.

What do you think they'd say?

And that's just one thing. And then hit 'em with, But still no cure for cancer. But there are people flying to the outside of our atmosphere. There's even a car in space with a dummy at the wheel floating around the planet. Bananas are still 38 cents a pound, Domino's Pizza is everywhere, there's an online store named after a river in South America and there are clumsy self-steering vacuum cleaners... that you can buy from the online store, amongst practically anything... and have it delivered to your house or on your phone or laptop.

Now consider that in, I dunno, hell, the way things are going, 10 years, how archaic our cell phones might be.

yeah that is kind of the point: far more pollution goes on day to day due to various factors that civilization seems to not be able to mitigate than happens at a once a year drag race or in this case, an extraneous space flight or two. Choose your targets wisely, but realize, the big problems are from things we have ingrained into our society (fossil fuels, for just one example) and they are going to escape scrutiny as long as people can focus on seemingly "wasteful" enterprises like Branson here has going on. They can sit back in their Lexi and point a finger and say, hey, you shouldn't be doing that, while all the time contributing way more en masse than the big obvious one time deal does.

Anyhow, all this reminds me of what they said when the Ford T Model was introduced. Never gonna fly and look at what a pain in the ass it is. Not that I know that first hand or anything. But the advent of electronic networking? Yeah I was around for that and heard the same naysaying, who the heck is ever going to sit in front of a computer and communicate with others? No one.

jb

In 1965 when I was 18 Barry McGuire hit the world with this song:

Eve of Destruction

The Eastern world, it is explodin'
Violence flarin', bullets loadin'
You're old enough to kill but not for votin'
You don't believe in war, but what's that gun you're totin'?
And even the Jordan river has bodies floatin'
But you tell me over and over and over again my friend
Ah, you don't believe we're on the eve of destruction
Don't you understand what I'm trying to say?
Can't you feel the fear that I'm feeling today?
If the button is pushed, there's no running away
There'll be no one to save with the world in a grave
Take a look around you boy, it's bound to scare you, boy
But you tell me over and over and over again, my friend
Ah, you don't believe we're on the eve of destruction
Yeah, my blood's so mad, feels like coagulatin'
I'm sittin' here just contemplatin'
I can't twist the truth, it knows no regulation
Handful of Senators don't pass legislation
And marches alone can't bring integration
When human respect is disintegratin'
This whole crazy world is just too frustratin'
And you tell me over and over and over again my friend
Ah, you don't believe we're on the eve of destruction
Think of all the hate there is in Red China
Then take a look around to Selma, Alabama
Ah, you may leave here for four days in space
But when you return, it's the same old place
The poundin' of the drums, the pride and disgrace
You can bury your dead but don't leave a trace
Hate your next door neighbor but don't forget to say grace
And you tell me over and over and over and over again my friend
You don't believe we're on the eve of destruction
You don't believe we're on the eve of destruction

Now, being 73, I see that things have obviously not become better, but definitely worse.

Why cannot guys like these who have (Jeff Bezos) made their money partly by driving small businesses into bankruptcy use their money for making this world a better place? Instead, they waste it for senselesse games.

It is really true: "The only difference between men and boys are the size of their cocks and the price of their toys."

My two cents.

Ah, you may leave here for four days in space
But when you return, it's the same old place


Not if ya land in my back yard ...... HHHaaaaaaaaaaaaa



ROCKMAN

I remember that song very well. At a young, idealistic age I thought the message was a good warning. Reading the lyrics again, well, man hadn't made its steps on the moon yet in 1965, and when they returned in 1969 after a few days nothing much had changed apart from maybe a million more babies.
The other day I wrote to Irix that in 1800 there were still less than 1 billion people on our globe. For sure, Ruediger, things have gone worse in many ways, but look at all the people (Beatles) happily walking and sitting around with their mobile phones. What more do we want: happy people. The truth is that those mobiles filled with games help us escape from reality (Queen) a lot.
I look at Branson and Bezos differently. Their efforts to "conquer" space will turn out to be of great help to make the human race survive in the future. I hate to see poor and sick people. It shouldn't be. But the truth behind it is that a majority of them, knowing deep inside they shouldn't, continue to behave like rabbits. I do hate dictators, but I support the idea of compulsary vaccination and condoms. Too many (cov)idiots on this globe

I'm a GHOST living in a ghost town

"but I support the idea of compulsary vaccination and condoms"

Yes, but lets not put them in the same package.

Blue Origin's flight was pretty awesome too.

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VoodooLounge13

Blue Origin's flight was pretty awesome too.

Video from Jeff Bezos' first space flight on 20-Jul-2021 (11 mins, 351,210 ft / 107.05 km altitude)

Watched the Bezos show. Boys with toys. In Bezos case, expensive toys. Couldn't help but think that Bezos rocket, with the capsule on top, was rather phallic. Jeff's way of saying look at me, I'm the man?

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dmay
Watched the Bezos show. Boys with toys. In Bezos case, expensive toys. Couldn't help but think that Bezos rocket, with the capsule on top, was rather phallic. Jeff's way of saying look at me, I'm the man?

I thought that too about the shape. Seemed all together a bit smoother than Virgin's.

"Stop it with your crazy dreams about space, Bezos and Branson. We have social justice issues here on earth and that's where you should be spending the billions you have earned. Exploring is only ok when the government does it."

Hating people who reach for the stars is a hell of way to look at life. Imagine being so joyless.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2021-07-20 19:34 by rbk.

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rbk
"Stop it with your crazy dreams about space, Bezos and Branson. We have social justice issues here on earth and that's where you should be spending the billions you have earned. Exploring is only ok when the government does it."

Hating people who reach for the stars is a hell of way to look at life. Imagine being so joyless.

><

How low can you go. Cheap trills

This guy has real guts:

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VoodooLounge13

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dmay
Watched the Bezos show. Boys with toys. In Bezos case, expensive toys. Couldn't help but think that Bezos rocket, with the capsule on top, was rather phallic. Jeff's way of saying look at me, I'm the man?

I thought that too about the shape. Seemed all together a bit smoother than Virgin's.

well there is your dude in the speedo to look at. Should love that. Really base people have really base thoughts, won't reach the moon like that son. Such cleverness.

jb

Regarding the high dive video, the guy in the Speedo is doing his manly bit. Hitting that water must have been one helluva impact.

Regarding Bezos and his rocket ride, here's part of his take on it:

“I also want to thank every Amazon employee and every Amazon customer because you guys paid for all of this.”

Truer words never spoken today. What a @#$%&.

Parody by Jon Stewart about the "billionaire's space race" - Video , [Twitter.com] :


Video from [www.DailyMail.co.uk]

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Irix
Parody by Jon Stewart about the "billionaire's space race" - Video , [Twitter.com] :


Video from [www.DailyMail.co.uk]

That's pretty damn funny.

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dead.flowers
After all hilarious, is that what they call space? A mere 80 km up to the end of the mesosphere. And then 3 minutes of weightlessness? Wow! What a big noise about it. Today is not any longer the time for such stupid games.

There does appear to be some controversy if Branson went to 'space'.

The international norm for 'space' is 60 miles above earth. He went 53. Bezos went 66.

Again, unwarranted pot shots at great people by folks who fret about the danger of going to the grocery store much less blasting off in a rocket. Green is a very unbecoming color sometimes.

jb

I certainly wasn't trying to criticize, any of these folks that go up in a rocket to or near space are braver than I am! Bezos and Branson put their money where their mouth is I guess you could say in flying in very early flights of the products they're creating. Elon Musk seems to think even farther out of the box and is just as if not more intriguing with how he's using spacecraft, electric cars, cryptocurrency, and the inventions that led to his wealth to be able to do these things.

[www.youtube.com]