Ski Slopes of Mars

With global warming threatening skiing on Earth--the slopes are melting, go here and here--you would have thought that the in-crowd would start wondering about their carbon footprints and general rape of the planet (including 99.5% of the human population, they've been giving it to me since before I was born). But, no. They've got a better plan, a master plan to get the hell off of Earth and enjoy a new start, while the rest of us stay behind and choke down toxic waste from their industrial, radioactive, nightmare of a global theme park.

NASA recently released the first pictures ever of an avalanche on Mars. Yup, prime powder to be plowed there, and no poor people to get in the way.

The Thesis, Economic Hitman, and Alcoa

Well, I'm back. Lately my personal life has been...well interesting. End of a marriage, family illness, and whole bunch else. The blog, I fear, has been ignored.

So, the news. The thesis was granted last week, and I received hard copies of the examiners' reports. I'll type them up and post them here. I have to fix a few grammatical mistakes, but nothing a weekend can't fix. Maybe I'll be really stupid and attempt a PhD. God alone knows what I'll do with that.

Two days ago, while eating lunch with radical comrades from Umzabalazo we Jubilee (which kind of exists as a underground, staunchly anti-capitalist South African social movement), I received a call from Alcan's economic hitman, who had just arrived in South Africa from Canada and wanted to meet me. As usual, he tried the old corporate tactic of co-option. He stated that Alcan was a good company, concerned about the environment, and that there were ways Earthlife Africa and Alcan could work together. When I told him that the only thing I was interested in getting out of Alcan was the price of electricity from Eskom, he was not happy. He then dragged out the next corporate trick, threats. He was concerned about my facts and that there would be consequences. I take that vaguely veiled threat to be a host of lawyers descending with paperwork. Well, screw that. Serve me and I'll spin that like a record.

For more on Alcan in South Africa, go here.

Keeping with aluminium smelting, Alcoa (who is trying to buy Alcan) just received a US$10 million contract from NASA. The corporatisation of space continues. Link.

There's even an idea for ads in space.

Privitisation of Space

This is not a joke anymore. From a Popular Mechanics interview with the head of NASA, Michael Griffin:

[PM] 2. Your administration has gotten a lot of attention for reaching out to private enterprise and working collaboratively with some of the private space ventures. Do you see that as playing a critical role as we go forward—perhaps some of the low-Earth orbit functions that NASA currently has to shoulder?

[MG] I’d like for us to get to the point where we have the kind of private/public synergy in space flight that we have had for a hundred years in aviation, where we’ve had government development and requirements and we also had the same on the commercial side. It led to the creation of the aviation and air transport industry, and it led to American pre-eiminence in that industry in the past century. Space flight has been, necessarily, heavily subscribed by the government. But we have not had enough private enterprise, stimulated by government demand. And I’ve been trying to work on that. I think it’s crucial for the future.

[PM] 3. So you see a day when private industry might be lofting payloads into orbit? And you’ll put that out for bid?

[MG] Absolutely. I see a day in the not very distant future, where instead of NASA buying a vehicle, we buy a ticket for our astronauts to ride to low-Earth orbit, or a bill of lading for a cargo delivery to space station by a private operator. I want us to get to that point.

Listen up and pay attention. The military industrial complex in the USA is setting up a massive government subsidy programme from corporations and wealthy individuals for space. Bottom dollar, the result will be that the State will pay for these bastards to colonise and then own space. And, where will we be? Back down on Earth, choking on fumes left over from the State subsidising the transport and energy industries of the 20th Century. Oh, and we will be hungry, because there will be NO FISH LEFT IN THE SEA.

Corporate Space

Elite groups are not stupid. Usually they're actually quite smart, and in the race to leave us all behind, they're taking no chances and setting up there own, privately-funded space programmes. Needs Another Seven Astronauts can't be relied upon.

But the release of the video, along with a recruitment pitch for rocket scientists, engineers and anyone with experience of space industries, proves that Mr Bezos is intent on becoming a major player in the privately-funded race for space.

Mr Branson's Virgin Galactic is already taking bookings for $200,000 flights into space it intends starting in 2009, and Paul Allen, the co-founder of Microsoft, is behind Burt Rutan's SpaceShipOne, which won the Ansari X-Prize for making two trips into space in 2004.

They will leave us behind when the seas boil and the land burns.

Link

Water on Mars

NASA thinks it might have found traces of free flowing water on Mars. If so, expect the elites to start planning a golf course. The only way we, the people, will get to Mars is if we assault the shuttle, declare revolutionary justice, strap ourselves in, and leave the elites behind. Either that, or shove GWB asidie and become James Baker's caddy.

More on NASA's Plan to Abandon Us

In a previous post, I've highlighted NASA's plan to relocate the US elite to Mars (and beyond) once Earth becomes superheated, barren, toxic waste dump. Somewhat tongue in cheek, yes, but maybe a grain of truth; the signs are there. Anyway, the plan seems to be rumbling along with an astonishing eye for detail. They're practicing golf now, which as I'm sure you know is a 'sport' for the rich and during which the non-rich get the privilege of carrying around the players stuff, like a servant, serf, wage-slave, peon.

HOUSTON, Nov 22 (Reuters) - Cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin smacked a golf ball into orbit off the International Space Station on Wednesday to raise money for the Russian space program during a spacewalk cut short by a balky spacesuit. Tyurin, the station's flight engineer, made a one-armed swing with a gold-plated six-iron to send the lightweight ball on a journey estimated to take it around the Earth at least 48 times before it burns up in the atmosphere.

And, yes, the corporate interest is as strong as ever.

...Canadian golf club maker Element 21 Golf Co. paid the cash-strapped Russian space agency an undisclosed amount of money for Tyurin's golf exhibition, which was filmed for a future commercial.

Link

US elite moving to Mars

A while ago, I mentioned that the US elite did have a backup plan for when the climate goes south; move to Mars and leave the rest of us to face the consequences of their ecological rape. This week, Bush put the beginnings of that plan into official policy. No joke, go here, here, and here

The policy seems to be that the US reserves the right to do what it pleases in space, including attacking those that get it its way. Here are the "new" official US Space Policy Goals:

3. United States Space Policy Goals

The fundamental goals of this policy are to:

• Strengthen the nation’s space leadership and ensure that space capabilities are available in time to further U.S. national security, homeland security, and foreign policy objectives;
• Enable unhindered U.S. operations in and through space to defend our interests there;
• Implement and sustain an innovative human and robotic exploration program with the objective of extending human presence across the solar system;

And, note that this will be a business friendly migration plan (essentially US capital and political elites, essentially the same people, have decided that space is for them and them alone):

It is in the interest of the United States to foster the use of U.S. commercial space capabilities around the globe and to enable a dynamic, domestic commercial space sector. To this end, departments and agencies shall:

• Use U.S. commercial space capabilities and services to the maximum practical extent; purchase commercial capabilities and services when they are available in the commercial marketplace and meet United States Government requirements; and modify commercially available capabilities and services to meet those United States Government requirements when the modification is cost effective;
• Develop systems when it is in the national interest and there is no suitable, cost effective U.S. commercial or, as appropriate, foreign commercial service or system that is or will be available when required
• Continue to include and increase U.S. private sector participation in the design and development of United States Government space systems and infrastructures;
• Refrain from conducting activities that preclude, deter, or compete with U.S. commercial space activities, unless required by national security or public safety;

If you're American, I hope you realise that this plan will be financed by you. The Rover, beloved of all, is actually a real estate scout: