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
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