Consider this a bonus Quote of the Week, but since it’s not climate/science/weather related I didn’t give it top billing for QOTW this week. That honor went to a study from the Max Planck Institute.
You are probably thinking though that I’m going to write about something related to satellite sensing or NASA GISS. Maybe with Jim Hansen or Gavin Schmidt as topics? No, there’s even more FAIL than those two can muster. It’s about their boss.
h/t to a zillion people who wrote in, but borrowing a bit from Russ Steele at NCWatch:
Charles Bolden, head of NASA, tells Al Jazeera in a video that:
…the “foremost” task President Obama has given him is “to find a way to reach out to the Muslim world and engage much more with predominantly Muslim nations to help them feel good about their historic contribution to science, math, and engineering.”
Thus, NASA’s primary mission is no longer to enhance American science and engineering or to explore space, but to boost the self-esteem of “predominantly Muslim nations.”
I can think of a few satirical images I could create to illustrate this folly, but they’d probably start a Jyllands-Posten style jihad.
Exploring space didn’t even make the top three things Obama wants Bolden to accomplish. The other two are:
…”re-inspire children to want to get into science and math” and “expand our international relationships,”
See the video below if you find this quote unbelievable.
JinOH says:
July 6, 2010 at 2:53 pm
America: 1776-2010 It was a good run.
You neglect to consider just this:
“The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.”
~ Thomas Jefferson ~
There’s been a ‘drought’ of late, methinks …
Othodoc said
“I would be happy to celebrate the many fine scientific accomplishments of the modern Muslim world, just as soon as I can decipher what they are.
I count two (2) scientists from Muslim majority countries who have won Nobels:
1. Claude Cohen-Tannoudji*, Physics, 1997
2. Ahmed Zewail, Chemistry, 1999
* Born to French-Jewish parents in Algeria when it was still a French territory.”
Sorry but i don’t measure science by the number of Nobel Prizes awarded. After all that prize is the mere opinion of a one country academy of sciences. I don’t play down the merit of earning one but i do not over rate it also. After all, considering the value of a Nobel Prize, thought not in a science area, there’s some institution and an almost be president that also earn one… 😉
I thought that was Hillary’s job!
Now what is she going to do?
A friend of mine pointed out to me that we have it all wrong. When this gentleman said we need “to find a way to reach out to the Muslim world…” he’s talking about another planet that NASA must have found.
To Stupidity and BEEEYOND!
jonrgrover says:
July 6, 2010 at 3:56 pm
I’ve read most of what Rand has written and a number of articles written about her, including her life story. She knew the horrors of authoritarianism first hand. My quibble was with her characters who seemed cartoonish, not with her philosophy. The scary thing is that real world characters are beginning to act more cartoonish than the fictional ones! In the words of Ellsworth Toohey: “Don’t set out to raze all shrines—you’ll frighten men. Enshrine mediocrity, and the shrines are razed”
I’m frightened anyway. When congressmen say they have to pass bills before they know what’s in them, NASA administrators are told that their objective is to make Moslems feel good about themselves, and government won’t enforce its own laws and rules….
Oh come on, the guy was trying to be nice to his hosts and blow it up into this? This isn’t a science blog, it seems to be about a grudge and world view that does not fit the global warmers – and to lower yourself into the same lying crap they do is just depressing. Congrats on taking this blog into the same territory as the IPCC and Pauchuri. You could do so much better…
When you want to kill something in a slow and painful way, one effective method is poison. ‘Tis apparent that the great have truly fallen. Alas poor Nasa, I knew him well! T’would that we had not succumbed to the siren calls of lust and leisure or the fallacy of a world united, and had fought harder to maintain what once we had. Gone is all we once believed in. Ahead is nothing of worth. Woo’ is me! Woo’ is thee!
PS: After “The Greatest” came “The Worst”, I’m told.
All you [snip] need to learn to read, isn’t this a science based blog where facts matter? Like these?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mathematics_in_medieval_Islam
“re-inspire children to want to get into science and math”, in other words kiddies learn how to skew science to make it worse than we thought, then use the math to count your money.
The real lesson here can be summed up in three words:
Elections have consequences!
If you’re a US citizen, please remember this in November!
Meanwhile, NASA, while formulating this new strategic vision of inspiring Muslims and children, was busy in 2009 greedily spending stimulus funds on themselves (this was over and above their normal bloated budgets) while scientists and engineers in the private sector were laid off due to the recession…
I see the progressives have answered the alarm, so I’ll be “unsubscribed” here.
I don’t need any help understanding what Bolden meant, I’m still working on what he said.
Come on, guys and gals, let’s give credit where it is due. The old scholars of Islam did contribute significantly to science and philosophy and did not have the shackles of Catholocism epitomised by the Galileo/Pope event.
Fairness dictates that honour be given to past scholarship and not confused with the prominent actions of an unrepresentative modern few terrorists.
By the way, I have the idea that with that phrase, Charles Bolden was being practical considering NASA fund cuts. After all, NASA lost most of its financial capacity to develop space technology. USA development depends a lot of countries that borrow money. Maybe Charles Bolden just made a little eye blink to get some $$$ cooperation 😉
Without International cooperation, USA will never be able to invest heavily in space again. The 60’s, probably won’t come back. So, contrary to the opinion of JefID in his recent post in the air vent, its not a question of USA helping muslims to get space technology but muslims to help USA to have money to be back on space again.
In this and many other issues, Americans tend to defend a cause looking only to their belly, without expand horizons. This image can apply to may western countries and I hope that make you all think a little.
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_rI1gp_IdT0M/TCmgzlJ1zGI/AAAAAAAABGs/mKVTWtR88KY/s1600/20534-large.jpg
Every person or blog has its highs and lows. I consider this a little “low” in a generally essential scientific blog.
In this way, I emphasise Thomas commentary above that has an opinion similar to mine
“Seems unfair to accuse a politician of making political statements. And I’m very proud of all that we American’s do to try to help with rest of the world. In fact much of my opposition to the green movement hings on the fact that it’ll be nearly impossible to lift from poverty the one billion humans who live and die on the edge of starvation if we abandon hydrocarbon fuels.
I know many fine scientists from the Muslim world, even scientists who are devout practicing Muslims. And without question they have a rich scientific heritage. A heritage that forms a foundation upon with modern science rests.
If this site is going to degenerate into a racist-rant site, I’m really going to miss it.”
Spartacus says: “Once, when we westerns (sic) were “barbarians”, trying to enforce christianism (sic) by the power of the sword, m(sic)uslims were worried with (sic) maths (you forget that 1, 2, 3, 4… 0 are the arabic numerical notation)…
Don’t you mean …4, 3, 2, 1, 0, FIRE?
phlogiston says:
July 6, 2010 at 4:20 pm
<i?Muslims dont need us to patronisingly tell them their own history. [–snip rest–]
Not according to Maurice Strong …
As Strong would have it, there –of necessity– needs to be created an artificial division of humanity, such that a great and onerous set of differences arises, and affords HIS associates the ability to take advantage of what happens AFTER the result.
Have you ever seen the stained glass window at the headquarters of the Fabian Society, in London?
Here, take a GOOD look at it: http://www.awakeandarise.org/article/FabianWindow.htm
In the background is a ‘shield’ with a wolf in sheep’s skin (clothing).
Note too, the globe being ‘hammered’ into shape by the smiths, itself which has been brought from the hot coals of the forge.
The WHOLE essence of that group of people is to create TOTAL WAR amongst the nations of the world, and THEN take advantage of the devastation by quickly grasping the reins of government in every land immediately thereafter.
Think I’m kidding? Look at what happened in almost EVERY European nation, right after WWII: Almost every single on of them was: SOCIALIST.
Who —what polity— governs the U.N.?
Take it from there …
Since Obama’s abrupt cancellation of the Constellation program, it has been clear to those who see that he does not care a fleck of dandruff for NASA’s mission. The most important consequence of his decisions regarding NASA has been the discontinuation of American government-sponsored spaceflight. Not to get into an argument over the virtues of the Constellation program (public works with an improbable launch architecture) and private spaceflight (I’m rooting for SpaceX), it is simply irresponsible for a sitting President to destroy a potentially strategic national capability. Had he transferred the spaceflight mission to the Air Force, this might have been credible. What he has done is hand it over to the Russians. Oh, and commercial transport to the Space Station? Just like offshore oil drilling: something easy to promise now and to cancel later, “for cause.”
What really remains is NASA as a propaganda tool for “global warming” and other political sciences.
Flying carpets´ technology?
Brad says “..lying crap..”?
Are you saying that Bolden was lying about the 3 things Obama asked him to do? That Obama had actually given him aeronautics and space as his foremost tasks, but he just made this up for Al Jazeera? That he lied about the purpose of his trip and had just gone to the middle east for perhaps a shopping trip? If so was he asked to lie by Obama, or did he think he would just lie about Obama’s instructions, without Obama’s permission?
Being nice to your hosts and changing policy to accomadate them are two VERY different things. NASA’s funds get increased, but they also tack on other missions which are very weird like this. What is the point of this?
This is by far in the same territory as the IPCC and Pauchuri simply because we exchange science (in NASA) for PC, political motivations and/or “feel good” crap that does no good and will have no good result in the long run since most muslims who are educated I am sure already know all of this, and those who are not, refuse to learn anyway. Take this like the IPCC which attempts to use a scientific background (like NASA in this case) and put out propaganda that serves no purpose but some weird politian’s daydreams of a sunny day where the birds are chirping and the flowers are singing, and reality does not exist.
As a friend of mine just said on our private technical discussion list:
NASA now stands for:
”No American in Space Anymore.”
Beyond sad.
And WRT prior comment by JinOH:
”America: 1776-2010 It was a good run.”
Stuff like these NASA ”goals” keep popping up, last above may move a lot more than is comfortable, from being cynically funny to being scarily observant. Having said same:
I don’t think the slide is irreversible YET. But it better back off soon, or it may be time to re-read Edward Gibbon’s classic historical work ”The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire” in a new light.
The activity of any group of cells against the natural order and functioning of the organism is called cancer.
Charles Bolden, head of NASA, tells Al Jazeera in a video that:
…the “foremost” task President Obama has given him is “to find a way to reach out to the Muslim world and engage much more with predominantly Muslim nations to help them feel good about their historic contribution to science, math, and engineering.”
This must be one of the most patronising statements I have ever read. Since when was it Obama’s job, much less the responsibility of NASA, to ‘help’ Muslim nations to feel good about their contribution to anything? If I were Muslim I would feel insulted by this remark. Who the B—-H — is he to tell me this?
Doug
“”Brad says:
July 6, 2010 at 5:31 pm
Oh come on, the guy was trying to be nice to his hosts and blow it up into this?”‘
No Brad, and the moron is so stupid he doesn’t even realize what an insult and put down that is.
How would you feel if someone said your self extreme was so low, an entire government agency should reach out and prop you up? Give you a little pat on the back and a sugar cookie?
Historical contributions of Muslims to math and science is huge and cannot be overstated (to name a few, think optics, biology, universities, etc.); HOWEVER, self esteem enhancement, propaganda, and psy-ops against foreign nations is NOT NASA’s job. Plenty of three letter agencies have those mission statements.
NASA, to me, is a research and exploration agency.
This is OT, but figured it was worth posting…
I was thinking about all the Ayn Rand comments I saw, and thought I would highly recommend this book. However, most people who read this do not understand that this is a book of philosophy…it is not trying to say “this is the way the world should be, or this is the bad way the world could be”. She is trying to talk about socialists in general and the evil they inflict on people through “feelings” and false morality.
Even the infamous John Galt is shown to be imperfect even though he is “the perfect man”.
Reading it as a trestise on government will not satisfy either side. Although the libertarian side is praised, it is meant nothing more but for a place for the true contributers of society to bide their time until society is willing to give them a true price for the services they give humanity. And the socalist conditions are even not shown to be completly evil, in that the philosophy is broken down into how the socalists do mean well, its just that their disconnect with the reality of their fellow man and their false morality clouds their judgement and makes them take from the weathly for mostly their own devices.
I might say that I read this and could picture some people in the Cagw group as the very definitions of the socalist characters and the skeptics as part of the “libertarian” group. The CAGW takes tax money from the wealthy, and uses it for “good intentions” in their minds, but ends up being nothing more then a “legal steal” from those who earned the wealth.
The skeptics attempt to fix society which is being broken by these men (and women) and expect no pay for their services. I posted this here simply because their was a lot of quotes on Ayn Rand….and I think all philosophies are important to read because they give you a different outlook and explain why people do what they do.