Why Does The British Media Hate Nasa?, It seems they criticise whenever the can Options

[Canopus]

Is this the same UK which frequently gives the USA a scolding for having had a slave trade once (you know...the one they started)? And for colonialism too (nevermind we were once their colony, and they had colonies galore prior to any of ours). All's forgiven for them apparently...but not for us apparently.

What an odd double standard.

Doesn't surprise me that NASA's getting bashed. It's part of America...so what else is new?

[Guest_AlexBlackwell_*]

Is this the same UK which frequently gives the USA a scolding for having had a slave trade once (you know...the one they started)?  And for colonialism too (nevermind we were once their colony, and they had colonies galore prior to any of ours).  All's forgiven for them apparently...but not for us apparently.

What an odd double standard.

Doesn't surprise me that NASA's getting bashed.  It's part of America...so what else is new?

For what it's worth, I think it's ridiculous to judge a country by its media. Only slightly better would be to judge a country by its used car salesmen, especially since the latter, at least here in the U.S., are rated higher in opinion polls than the former.

This post has been edited by AlexBlackwell: Feb 1 2006, 05:41 PM

[dvandorn]

First off -- Doug, you know I was exaggerating for dramatic effect -- -- although, as with all such things, there is a germ of truth there. After all, as Benjamin Franklin once said, all rebellions are illegal in the third person -- such as "their rebellion." It is only in the first person -- "our rebellion" -- that they become legal.

We can try (and, to a certain extent, succeed) in "sending our minds but not our bodies" to other worlds. But there is a satisfaction of exploration that cannot be achieved unless human beings actually trod the sands and shores of the new worlds. Why do you think we anthropomorphize these robots as much as we do? If we could bring Spirit and Oppy back home, there are those who would give *them* ticker-tape parades, as if they could appreciate the adulation...

Yes, we need heroes. And we need heroes who accomplish great voyages of exploration far more than we need heroes who have proven their prowess in killing. Enemies come and go, and more often than not become allies in the next war -- but explorations live on in human history, the first steps onto foreign soil being remembered long after the wars that preceded or followed them.

For those of you who insist that there is no place in space exploration for manned explorations, I ask of you -- why do we, then, make those who perform manned explorations heroes?

The answer to that rhetorical question, of course, is that we all, in our heart of hearts, truly want to do such exploring ourselves. We can satisfy that need vicariously when one of us, another human being whose life and experience we can truly share and understand, does that which we long to do. But no matter how hard we try, we cannot anthropomorphize robots enough to fulfill that same need by looking through their cold eyes of glass, metal and plastic.

Yes, there are places humans cannot go, and we will expand our horizons via robots as much as is necessary. But (as has been said before), there is a fundamental truth to our nature: man must explore.

-the other Doug

[ElkGroveDan]

THIS is the logical fallacy in the stop-manned-spaceflight argument.  I absolutely guarantee you that a cessation of U.S. manned spaceflight will not result in larger budgets for unmanned exploration.

In fact, a cessation of U.S. manned spaceflight will inevitably lead to a cessation of U.S. unmanned space exploration.

If that's what y'all want -- if y'all REALLY want to leave unmanned space exploration to ESA and China -- then go ahead, side with that article.

Besides, I take UK criticism of anything American with a grain of salt -- the Brits really haven't forgiven us colonists for our little rebellion, and you guys on the other side of the pond can never pass up an opportunity to stick it to us whenever you can... 

-the other Doug

Wow. oDoug and I are in agreement on something bordering political.

[dvandorn]

You see, Dan? There's room for common ground, even between conservatives and liberals!

Bodes well for the future...

-the other Doug

[hendric]

... If we could bring Spirit and Oppy back home, there are those who would give *them* ticker-tape parades, as if they could appreciate the adulation...

-the other Doug

Hell, I would go to a ticker tape parade for the MER rovers...Let's schedule one for the year after they both pass away! We could even use that 1/4 scale model someone is building, and mount it on a Mars float/diorama...

[Rakhir]

THIS is the logical fallacy in the stop-manned-spaceflight argument.  I absolutely guarantee you that a cessation of U.S. manned spaceflight will not result in larger budgets for unmanned exploration.

-the other Doug

From http://www.space.com/news/ft_060201_nasabudget.html

The NASA budget to be released Monday will not include the $5 billion in extra money that agency officials say will be needed between now and 2010 to pay the higher bills for all of the shuttle missions currently on the schedule.
That means other projects have to be canceled, cut back or postponed in order to free money for the shuttle's last missions. A steady trickle of reports in recent months indicate several space science and aeronautics projects are being cancelled or pushed back. The budget release is sure to include the details of exactly which programs might be in jeopardy, though Griffin said the agency's science portfolio is not being "whacked" for the sake of the shuttle or moon missions.

[ugordan]

From http://www.space.com/news/ft_060201_nasabudget.html

Now that's just fricken great...
I suppose that means bye-bye to the Europa Orbiter until god-knows-when. It's not like there could be *life* beneath all that ice or anything...

[abalone]

Is it worth pointing out that both the owner and the editor of The "London" Times are Australian?........................ I'll get my coat.........

Hey, don't judge a country by its megalomaniac....anyhow I believe he has given us the flick and has been a fully paid up Yank for years mate!!...and the irony is that one American is complaining about criticism from another.

Attached image(s)

 

[Guest_Sunspot_*]

The British press isn't the only one bashing NASA.......

http://silverchips.mbhs.edu/inside.php?sid=6175

...this review of the new IMAX movie Roving Mars - says its little more than "an expensive, drawn-out commercial for NASA "

She's complaining that she had to pay $8.50 to see it and as expected the article is full of mistakes, so she couldnt have been paying much attention - stupid women lol.

I think you can add your comments at the end... perhaps she might like to know how popular the MER mission has been on the interent- how many hits has the website had?

[djellison]

PAh - I've added a comment, but I doubt it will be read


""if the mission is successful"

Both rovers have been working on the surface for more than two years.

"The capsule's fiery descent into the Martian atmosphere at Mach-2"

The entry occured at Mach 25.

"This is essentially a tribute to a couple of robots"

And to the people that built them, designed them, and operate them to this day -unarguable the greatest team of engineers and scientists the human race has to offer.

If you are going to offer criticism, please do so accurately."

No doubt if the movie were free, she would moan that her taxes were being wasted in making it.

Doug

[Guest_Sunspot_*]

I suspect her appalling journalistic abilities would be better suited to commenting on the fashion industry or the latest Brad and Angelina gossip .

[ljk4-1]

I suspect her appalling journalistic abilities would be better suited to commenting on the fashion industry or the latest Brad and Angelina gossip  .

If you look at the header at the top of her "review", you will see that she is a "reporter" for a high school newspaper!

While she has the "right" not to be into science et al (the right to be ignorant?), it makes me wonder if she ever got the proper education/stimulation for the sciences?

http://www.thememoryhole.org/edu/school-mission.htm

[djellison]

Oh - she's perfectly entitled to lambast the movie - but not to get facts wrong - that's the basics of reporting.

Doug

[dvandorn]

The problem is that, at least in American media, it's become acceptable to state "facts" that you've made up (i.e., LIES) in order to support your own personal point of view (i.e., AGENDA).

If you want to listen to supposedly professional journalists stating incorrect "facts," over and over again, all day long, I suggest you spend some time watching Fox News. Some of the other cable news channels are nearly as bad, but that one's the worst.

As long as high-profile "journalists" are allowed to state lies and then claim they are facts, over and over again, it's a little difficult to teach our schoolchildren and our journalists-in-training that they ought to have some type of abiding respect for the TRUTH.

...*sigh*...

-the other Doug