TONY ON OILY SPACE
Posted by anthonynorth on July 29, 2008
Welcome to my latest current affairs post. You’ll find at least four a week at Beyond the Blog. Click here for my fiction, poetry and essays.
The head of NASA has warned that once the Shuttle program is over, the organization will struggle. Hang on a minute! Didn’t Bush say a few years ago that he wants to begin real exploration of Mars?
Oh, sorry. Was it just political spin?
Of course it was. Make people feel good at a time when things aren’t going well. Which is, of course, a disgrace. We are explorers by nature. It is why mankind is so successful. We should be out there now.
So why aren’t we? Well, one reason is NASA – a government controlled organization. History tells us that governments make terrible explorers. It is done by private enterprise. So hopefully he is right about NASA. Scrap it! And turn that expertise over to a new breed of space entrepreneur.
The British oil giant, BP, has just announced its profits.
In the first half of 2008 they had a 23% rise on the first half of 2007. That adds up to 13.4 billion dollars. Yes, you heard it right!
So, as most of the world begins to struggle, we can rest sure that our tiny percentage of mega-rich will continue to rub our noses in it. The word ‘sick’ comes to mind. When will these mega-rich realize the truth of capitalism?
What is that truth? That profit goes hand in hand with service – caring for the customer, and riding the ups and downs with them. When profit becomes their only concern, then contempt is all they deserve.
© Anthony North, July 2008
NOTE: Regulars will notice a change here. I am condensing my literary endeavours into two magazine posts, on Wednesday and Saturday, allowing more time for some four current affairs posts a week. At present, it is a trial, to see how it goes. Hope you like it.
OUR FUTURE IS SPACE
Space, space, there’s stars to chase,
the ultimate role of the human race;
What are we doing sat on this Earth,
stuck in a frightful, boring dearth,
of courage, of vigour, of get up and go,
infatuated by celebs called so and so;
Wake up mankind! Realise your mission,
there’s more to life than your car’s tranmission;
Time to stop selfishness, mass consumerism, too,
time for daring, curiosity to renew;
So gather the CEOs and other toffs,
put ‘em in a rocket, and blast ‘em off!
(c) Anthony North, July 2008
Brian said
This is the current Fortune 500 list from this month for fiscal year 2007. The interesting number is that the total list of 500 has a revenue of $23.6 trillion or just under twice the GNP for the United States.
Rank Company Revenues ($ millions)Profits($millions)
1. Wal-Mart Stores 378,799.0 * 12,731.0
2. Exxon Mobil 372,824.0 *40,610.0
3. Chevron 210,783.0 *18,688.0
4. General Motors 182,347.0 * -38,732.0
5. ConocoPhillips 178,558.0 * 11,891.0
6. General Electric 176,656.0 *22,208.0
7. Ford Motor 172,468.0 * -2,723.0
8. Citigroup 159,229.0 * 3,617.0
9. Bank of America Corp. 119,190.0 * 14,982.0
10. AT&T 118,928.0 * 11,951.0
11. Berkshire Hathaway 118,245.0 * 13,213.0
12. J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. 116,353.0 * 15,365.0
13. American International Group 110,064.0 * 6,200.0
14. Hewlett-Packard 104,286.0 * 7,264.0
15.International Business Machines 98,786.0*10,418.0
16. Valero Energy 96,758.0 * 5,234.0
17. Verizon Communications 93,775.0 * 5,521.0
18. McKesson 93,574.0 * 913.0
19. Cardinal Health 88,363.9 * 1,931.1
20. Goldman Sachs Group 87,968.0* 11,599.0
Brian said
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/2008/full_list/
Little old me said
nice site I shall drop in again
SandyCarlson said
Profit? Did you say profit? Of course. ‘Twas ever thus, eh, Anthony?
anthonynorth said
Hi Brian,
You know, I class myself as a capitalist. I think it’s fair to reward initiative, to expect a fair profit for a good service, to be allowed interest from savings, etc. I just don’t know what today’s system has to do with capitalism.
More like empire building.
Hi Little Old Me,
Welcome, and thank you for the kind comment
Hi Sandy,
They say that the father of our capitalist method was the economist Adam Smith. He spoke of the morality of the market and the trickle down factor. What is forgotten today is his insistence that it could only work alongside thrift.
Twilight said
We should be out there now – agreed, AN! That’s likely to be the only future humanity has, long-term, I think Stephen Hawking said as much.
We should be out there instead of in Iraq.
Christopher Columbus had to be financed by Royalty, I suppose that the multi-billionaires are our “royalty” now – so……let’s get on with it!
anthonynorth said
Hi Twilight,
Very true. If we look back to the European explorations of the globe, they weren’t so much organised by governments, but by private enterprise – the East India Companies then went on to handle the colonisations.
Okay, not always a good thing, but the point is we constantly move on – at least, we did. The people who should be organising this exploration are currently sitting on their backsides raking in the lifeblood of the consumer.
Comedy Plus said
Love Brian’s list. Nice to see our oil companies right in the top of the heap. Yep, the rich keep getting richer and the poor keep getting poorer and the middle class will vanish at some point. Have a great day Anthony.
anthonynorth said
Hi Sandee,
Welcome to serfdom
Twilight said
This is slightly off topic, AN (sorry), but I’ve just been sent a link to a YouTube video which might be of interest to you, if not seen already – Ed Mitchell, astronaut tells us his views on UFOs – it is loosely related to space
anthonynorth said
Hi Twilight,
Yes, the paranormal sites have been buzzing with this across the net. And there’s been quite a few varying views on him, to say the least
Chris said
Hi Anthony,
Many multi-national companies have a core objective of ‘increasing shareholder value’.
I wonder if this has anything to do with the share options provided to most of those at senior management level (with the CEO at the ‘peak’ of the pyramid) as part of their package with these companies?
Space exploration? Perhaps more chairmen should follow Richard Branson’s visionary example for a starter?
Quilly said
You know, if we kept our money in our pockets and didn’t go out and buy the latest and the greatest and the biggest and the best …. I’m sure you do know. Just like I do. But it’s easier said than done.
I think private enterprise funding space research is a great idea. Who makes the rocket ships? Please, not the same people who made my little Suzuki car.
anthonynorth said
Hi Chris,
I think it has everything to do with it. You see, I don’t think there is any massive conspiracy going on here, or that these CEOs are intrinsically evil or anything.
The results we are getting are based on the incentives placed in the system. In keeping the shareholders happy, you are rewarded, and the more you are rewarded, the more you think only of profit and forget service.
The more important to your success the shareholders become, the less important the actual consumer. And soon you find yourself in a mega-rich/serf situation.
As for Branson, he’s good – what it should all be about.
Hi Quilly,
You raise the same problem as Chris, but from the different angle. This form of mass-consumerism feeds all our imagined wants, so we buy, buy, buy. How do we demand change in the system?
We just stop buying like that. We’re our own conspirators, as it were.
Yes, private enterprise has got to be the way into space, proper. And don’t worry – I don’t think we’ll have a Starship Suzuki.
But then again …
totaltransformation said
“So hopefully he is right about NASA. Scrap it! And turn that expertise over to a new breed of space entrepreneur.”
Amen to that. There is no good reason to explain we haven’t already been to Mars. We have the technology, the man power, and, I believe, even the collective will to go. For some reason though the leadership isn’t pulling the trigger.
anthonynorth said
Hi TT,
Absolutely. As I say, governments make terrible explorers. But more than this, maybe they know that true exploration will be a global enterprise – and how can anyone, then, control space?
Bernie said
Interesting. As for the money, this is a captitolistic nation so money comes first it seems these days sad as that is.
My 34th TT is up: 13 comments you can make to your physician while he’s performing a colonoscopy on you. Here’s the link.
Selma said
I feel sick thinking about the mega-rich. It’s just not right, is it? To be so unaccountable to others seems immoral to me. But then I am just one of the humble members of the proletariat, so what do I know.
anthonynorth said
Hi Bernie,
Thanks for that. Yes, money seems to be all nowadays – and the power it bestows in the few.
Hi Selma,
It is indeed immoral. And one day they will be made accountable. It is the way with us humans. I just wonder what new dictatorial system those who make them accountable will come up with, though.