Slashdot Mirror
Google Founders' Jets Caught On WSJ's Radar
theodp writes "Via an FOIA request, the Wall Street Journal acquired records of every private aircraft flight recorded in the FAA's air-traffic management system for 2007 through 2010, using them to build a private jet tracker database. Among the high fliers who found their records unblocked were Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, whose 767 and Gulfstream reportedly burned an estimated 52,000 gallons of aviation fuel and $430,000 on two round-trips from the U.S. mainland to Tahiti to catch last summer's total eclipse of the sun. A Google spokeswoman confirmed the pair's jaunt, but added that Page and Brin mitigated the greenhouse gas emissions from their aircraft usage by purchasing an even greater amount of carbon offsets. Tech-boom billionaire Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban seemed unfazed by the prospect of his past plane movements becoming public: 'I have a plane,' Cuban quipped. 'I bought it so I could use it. Shocking, isn't it?'"
More to the point, this is a private person doing something privately with their earned fortune, its none of the WSJs business.
So who of us would not fly every now and then on a private plane in order to travel through the world? Isn't this also the case for many polititians, especially "important" ones?
Honestly, I would do it.
... summed it up brilliantly. This is like someone discovering Google Maps for the first time and spying on the backyards of the wealthy. Nothing of real interest here except the obvious, "Why is the WSJ so interested in tracking private citizens given the fact that it was FREAKING out over 'privacy' issues, like *gasp* ad companies track people, and the fact that it is conservative, and isn't that all about personal freedom, 'don't take mah gun, git yer camera outta my backyard'?"
I8-D
True its none of our business. But since its out, if they were concerned enough to buy carbon offsets couldn't they have also "flight pooled"?
...and NOT because they used their jet.
"A Google spokeswoman confirmed the pair's jaunt, but added that Page and Brin mitigated the greenhouse gas emissions from their aircraft usage by purchasing an even greater amount of carbon offsets."
I lost respect for them because they subscribe to ManBearPig's farcical religion that tells them they can cleanse themselves of their environmental sins if they purchase carbon indulgences. The whole notion of carbon indulgences is fucking retarded. It's not as if their jet left a trail of elemental carbon floating in the atmosphere for all eternity. It likely produced some carbon-containing pollutants - but guess what also does... BREATHING! Every living organism contains carbon, so the idea of somehow trying to "offset" it is nonsense. They probably bought their indulgences from one of those companies that burns down forests in South America just so they can have some land to plant trees on to assuage the self-inflicted angst and guilt of rich white liberal Americans.
Props to Mark Cuban for not being a pussy about using HIS jet.
What a useless "Ooooh, lookie, I can feel good about myself now!!!" scam.
I mean, the rich have privacy rights, too. Why the hell should everywhere they fly be made public?
You don't need to get groped at the airport if you have your own private charter flight. That's got to be worth the cost of the plane right there.
"I'm rich, so I can buy my morality. See, when you have enough money, you don't need to reduce usage. You just pay others to clean up for you."
You are suggesting that it is immoral to burn fuel. Or, rather, to burn fuel for a purpose that you (or somebody?) doesn't approve of, or doesn't deem important enough.
It isn't. You're free to disapprove of it, and you're free to tell yourself that Google's founders are going to murder the planet because they flew to Tahiti, but that's got nothing to do with morality.
Ageer, this represents a serious breach of privacy. What would you think if your car location data would be publicly available? So anyone can basically know when/where you went? I have no problem if this you authorize to publish your data but not like this.
Does this seem a bit hypocritical (at least perceived). I really don't care what they do with their money but this seems counter to their support of Anthropomorphic Global Warming. Oh sure they bought some carbon credits, but since the credits are a traded commodity, their extravagance resulted in higher prices for others seeking the same credits (supply-demand curve). Therefore, since others may not have purchased those credits due to the higher price, no overall benefit was realized. It seems to me that if you want to talk-the-talk then at least fly commercial first class - or shut the f%^& up. Flame suit on.
Conservative, mod down for violating
This reminds me of what the church used to do, which was sell indulgences to the rich so they didn't have to pray or spend as much time earning forgiveness. Everyone else had to pay the full penance. It was one of the reasons Martin Luther started the protestant revolution.
Except this time it's not the church, but some business selling forgiveness in the eyes of the public. Who knows what the money is actually used for.
These are two people who spend a lot of time proclaiming that we should reduce our carbon footprint. This is in the same category of hypocrisy as the guy who proclaims that sex outside of marriage is wrong and is then caught sleeping with his secretary. If your position is that AGW is such a major problem as to justify spending trillions of dollars of other people's money to mitigate it, then you should not be jetting off to some island to view a solar eclipse.
This type of behavior on the part of AGW proponents is why people like me don't take it seriously. The behavior of prominent AGW proponents does not seem to indicate that they really believe in it either.
The truth is that all men having power ought to be mistrusted. James Madison
I wish all evangelical vegetarians and vegans would stop breathing. All the hot air and CO2 they're emitting could be greatly reduced with their own asphyxiation.
today is spelling optional day.
And if you have your own private 767, you can get groped on the plane.
If you catch my drift.
You are welcome on my lawn.
This type of behavior on the part of AGW proponents is why people like me don't take it seriously. The behavior of prominent AGW proponents does not seem to indicate that they really believe in it either.
Or perhaps they are better at math than you are. One 767 more or less won't make any significant difference in the amount of CO2 emitted. The convenience to the owners, OTOH, can make a big difference in the work they perform. If you think of the Google owners income divided per hour, you'll see that the time saved by not having to wait for an available flight is worth a big lot of money.
BTW, TFA says they bought carbon credits to mitigate the fuel their jet burns. Have you bought carbon credits? Or do you just say, "fuck AGW, fuck pollution, i don't believe in any of that."
If they were concerned about the carbon footprint couldn't they have just bought the offsets and stayed home? Actually the whole idea of carbon offsets is just bullshit. I wonder if they worry about a new era Martin Luther who will show what a mockery their Indulgences really are?
Even more to the point, how exactly is their whereabouts being tracked this way any different than their effort of tracking and selling the activities of every single person who ever uses the internet? Seems perfectly fine to me for them to have their travels publicized and mocked as appropriate.
<badhumor>Quite frankly, I wouldn't want to be stuck in a car full of unix admins, I don't think my nose could take it. </badhumor>
"A pilot furious with the Internal Revenue Service crashed his small plane into an Austin, Texas, office building where nearly 200 federal tax employees work on Thursday, igniting a raging fire that sent massive plumes of thick, black smoke rising from the seven-story structure."
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/02/18/pilot-crashes-texas-building-apparent-anti-irs-suicide#ixzz1NBnUiitg
Woe be on to them, all who rise against poor people, shall perish in a the end. Buju Banton