There are thousands of fringe lunatics on the internet proclaiming everything from how flouride in the water is mind controlling the public to how the Holocaust was a fabrication by Jews that never happened.
In the past these thousands were not much noticed in a country with 250 million people... maybe once in a while you'd see a weirdo on a street corner passing out flyers while normal people tried to avoid him, and that was about it. But now the internet has given these kooks a platform from which to be more visible.
I come to Slashdot for cutting edge technology news and some comedy now and then. I'd hate to see it become a platform for fringe lunatics and conpiracy theorists.
I've read most of the articles on Jerry Pournelle's website and the picture I get is that NASA exists to increase funding for itself and hire more and more NASA people. All other goals are secondary.
A more efficient, cheaper design that requires less employees runs counter to that goal.
Just look at the comments about NASA said by some of the giants in the aerospace industry. Burt Rutan for starters...
This is all true.
Unfortunately, from a corporation point of view, offshoring makes perfect sense. It's good economic practice to cut labor costs and increase profit. Hell, if I owned a company and I see a way of lowering my labor costs legally, I would do it. I like making more money as much as anyone else. Adam Smith, invisible hand, everyone working towards what's best for their own interests.
But then who's looking out for what's best in the public interest of the United States? That should be the public officials (gov't). Unfortunately, money owns our politicians and corporations have all the money. So the gov't does what's in the best interest of the corporations.
The only solution I can see is a popular uprising of such a magnitude that the politicians are forced to change their position. Make them realize that all their campaign donation money won't buy them their reelection because the voting public is so dead set against offshoring high tech jobs.
Otherwise it's bye bye middle class, we're gonna become a nation of trillionaire capital-owners and minimum-wage serfs.
Agreed.... this thing runs on LIQUID OXYGEN for chrissakes, it should be going 60,000 feet or more.
Some of the high-powered homemade rockets those guys shoot in the Nevada desert easily go 60,000 feet or more, and cost way less than 10 grand.
Maybe the original article misprinted the altitude, maybe it was 10km rather than 1km.
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In the past these thousands were not much noticed in a country with 250 million people... maybe once in a while you'd see a weirdo on a street corner passing out flyers while normal people tried to avoid him, and that was about it. But now the internet has given these kooks a platform from which to be more visible.
I come to Slashdot for cutting edge technology news and some comedy now and then. I'd hate to see it become a platform for fringe lunatics and conpiracy theorists.
A more efficient, cheaper design that requires less employees runs counter to that goal.
Just look at the comments about NASA said by some of the giants in the aerospace industry. Burt Rutan for starters...
This is all true. Unfortunately, from a corporation point of view, offshoring makes perfect sense. It's good economic practice to cut labor costs and increase profit. Hell, if I owned a company and I see a way of lowering my labor costs legally, I would do it. I like making more money as much as anyone else. Adam Smith, invisible hand, everyone working towards what's best for their own interests. But then who's looking out for what's best in the public interest of the United States? That should be the public officials (gov't). Unfortunately, money owns our politicians and corporations have all the money. So the gov't does what's in the best interest of the corporations. The only solution I can see is a popular uprising of such a magnitude that the politicians are forced to change their position. Make them realize that all their campaign donation money won't buy them their reelection because the voting public is so dead set against offshoring high tech jobs. Otherwise it's bye bye middle class, we're gonna become a nation of trillionaire capital-owners and minimum-wage serfs.
Agreed.... this thing runs on LIQUID OXYGEN for chrissakes, it should be going 60,000 feet or more. Some of the high-powered homemade rockets those guys shoot in the Nevada desert easily go 60,000 feet or more, and cost way less than 10 grand. Maybe the original article misprinted the altitude, maybe it was 10km rather than 1km.