topic Re: JEFF BEZOS in Community Chat

JEFF BEZOS

DiAnne — Wed, 21 Jul 2021 02:28:57 GMT

Anderson Cooper did a great interview with him and his brother this evening if anyone is interested.

Re: JEFF BEZOS

phoenixbrd — Wed, 21 Jul 2021 02:38:06 GMT

@DiAnne I'll suffer through AC to listen to the interview...JB is an interesting individual. Thanks for the heads up.

Re: JEFF BEZOS

Linmo — Wed, 21 Jul 2021 03:09:31 GMT

I was surprised that no one posted on here about today's Blue Origin flight. I think it's amazing that 82 year old Wally Funk finally made it into space! It looks like a new generation of space exploration is being born.

Re: JEFF BEZOS

QVCkitty1 — Wed, 21 Jul 2021 03:19:58 GMT

I'm frankly tired of the media fawning over Bezos, Branson and the rest. I could not care less, and I'll bet I'm not alone. 😴

Re: JEFF BEZOS

jellyBEAN — Wed, 21 Jul 2021 03:48:49 GMT

I watched the launch and very brief ride of a lifetime and had mixed feelings about it. On one hand I thought it was exciting and great and pleased that all went according to plan.

On the other hand I wondered what the purpose of this was? Other than he could afford to do this. He is employing lots of people. He is obviously a smart guy, a self-made titan of industry much like Vanderbilt, Rockefeller or Henry Ford.

But does this further pollute our atmosphere? Are millionaires now going to be joy-riding in rockets other than their private jets? I don't know enough about it, but I guess you cant stop progress.

Re: JEFF BEZOS

Linmo — Wed, 21 Jul 2021 04:05:05 GMT

@jellyBEAN It is small steps. If our planet becomes uninhabitable in the future for whatever reason, this could be a start to keeping mankind going. It may not affect us personally, but possibly for future generations.

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MrsSB — Wed, 21 Jul 2021 04:47:29 GMT

I liked and agreed with Stephen Colbert's take on the me, me, me, it's all about me attitude of the non tax paying billionaire.

Re: JEFF BEZOS

ValuSkr — Wed, 21 Jul 2021 07:54:06 GMT

This looked like a glorified amusement park ride.

It's "space tourism." Sounds like fun for billionaires and millionaires.

Wally Funk wants to go up again. I hope she realizes she'll have to pay for it next time.

Re: JEFF BEZOS

agb80 — Wed, 21 Jul 2021 08:57:00 GMT

@jellyBEAN wrote:
I watched the launch and very brief ride of a lifetime and had mixed feelings about it. On one hand I thought it was exciting and great and pleased that all went according to plan.

On the other hand I wondered what the purpose of this was? Other than he could afford to do this. He is employing lots of people. He is obviously a smart guy, a self-made titan of industry much like Vanderbilt, Rockefeller or Henry Ford.

But does this further pollute our atmosphere? Are millionaires now going to be joy-riding in rockets other than their private jets? I don't know enough about it, but I guess you cant stop progress.

Excellent post and I'm still stinging from the thousands of jobs lost in TX and the push for no fossil fuels whatsoever.

Re: JEFF BEZOS

Nataliesgramma — Wed, 21 Jul 2021 09:35:16 GMT

I too have mixed feelings about it.....

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CrazyDaisy — Wed, 21 Jul 2021 10:09:34 GMT

There are so many things we use everyday that came out of the US Space programs innovation. Now that the space program has been privatized it is exciting to see what will come next.

Re: JEFF BEZOS

CalminHeart — Wed, 21 Jul 2021 10:30:54 GMT

@jellyBEAN wrote:
I watched the launch and very brief ride of a lifetime and had mixed feelings about it. On one hand I thought it was exciting and great and pleased that all went according to plan.

On the other hand I wondered what the purpose of this was? Other than he could afford to do this. He is employing lots of people. He is obviously a smart guy, a self-made titan of industry much like Vanderbilt, Rockefeller or Henry Ford.

But does this further pollute our atmosphere? Are millionaires now going to be joy-riding in rockets other than their private jets? I don't know enough about it, but I guess you cant stop progress.

I agree. I realize that this flight may lead to other developments for humankind. He will write off most of the expenses and walk away paying little to no taxes. And that bothers me the most.

Re: JEFF BEZOS

ID2 — Wed, 21 Jul 2021 10:37:37 GMT

Spoiled rich people.

Re: JEFF BEZOS

Isobel Archer — Wed, 21 Jul 2021 10:49:19 GMT

@jellyBEAN wrote:
I watched the launch and very brief ride of a lifetime and had mixed feelings about it. On one hand I thought it was exciting and great and pleased that all went according to plan.

On the other hand I wondered what the purpose of this was? Other than he could afford to do this. He is employing lots of people. He is obviously a smart guy, a self-made titan of industry much like Vanderbilt, Rockefeller or Henry Ford.

But does this further pollute our atmosphere? Are millionaires now going to be joy-riding in rockets other than their private jets? I don't know enough about it, but I guess you cant stop progress.

It like everything else Bezos and company lecture us about. Climate change "concerns" will never inconvenience them. The "necessary restrictions" are only for others.

Re: JEFF BEZOS

gardenman — Wed, 21 Jul 2021 11:55:40 GMT

The US pretty much got out of the human spaceflight business when they shut down the shuttle program. Private entrepreneurs then took over, seeing a potentially large profit down the road. Now the US is back with Orion and Project Artemis for deeper space exploration while yielding the low Earth orbit stuff to the private companies. It's good that there's competition. Designing spacecraft is complicated and there will be failures along the way. Having a private/public combo using different devices means we should always have an alternate way to get there.

In 2018, 114 satellites were launched. In 2019 the number slipped to 95. In 2020 with more private launches the number rose to 1,283. The small, low Earth orbit satellites now being deployed can bring affordable, high-speed Internet to literally every corner of the globe. Go back fifty years and the cost to launch a single satellite was astronomical. Competition has brought those costs way, way down to the benefit of everyone.

Re: JEFF BEZOS

CrazyDaisy — Wed, 21 Jul 2021 12:34:20 GMT

@gardenman wrote:
The US pretty much got out of the human spaceflight business when they shut down the shuttle program. Private entrepreneurs then took over, seeing a potentially large profit down the road. Now the US is back with Orion and Project Artemis for deeper space exploration while yielding the low Earth orbit stuff to the private companies. It's good that there's competition. Designing spacecraft is complicated and there will be failures along the way. Having a private/public combo using different devices means we should always have an alternate way to get there.

In 2018, 114 satellites were launched. In 2019 the number slipped to 95. In 2020 with more private launches the number rose to 1,283. The small, low Earth orbit satellites now being deployed can bring affordable, high-speed Internet to literally every corner of the globe. Go back fifty years and the cost to launch a single satellite was astronomical. Competition has brought those costs way, way down to the benefit of everyone.

These innovations are expensive and each failure is costly. I applaud those willing to take a chance.

Re: JEFF BEZOS

LindaSal — Wed, 21 Jul 2021 12:46:51 GMT

I have no problem with it but was not all that impressed. I realize it's probably a good thing but what bothers me the most is the $200 million he gave away to Van Jones and Chef (whoever)?? Why not use that money to give bonuses to your hard working Amazon people?? JMO.

Re: JEFF BEZOS

phoenixbrd — Wed, 21 Jul 2021 13:10:15 GMT

@jellyBEAN You brought up several good points. I wish that we were developing some sort of space program, rather than leaving it up to these affluent space cowboys.

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Krimpette — Wed, 21 Jul 2021 13:27:33 GMT

@LindaSal Chef (?) does tremendous good in times of crises. I'm delighted to hear of the dontation for his works:

"José Ramón Andrés Puerta is a Spanish chef, restaurateur, and founder of World Central Kitchen, a non-profit devoted to providing meals in the wake of natural disasters. He is often credited with bringing the small plates dining concept to America."

Re: JEFF BEZOS

phoenixbrd — Wed, 21 Jul 2021 13:29:34 GMT

@agb80 Yes, I get it...while the space cowboys are playing our country is in crisis. The elephant in the living room is not addressed....and it is impacting and infiltrating our daily lives. Fossil fuels is just the tip of the ice berg. You have an amazing governor, who hopefully might be able to make some changes. Wishing you the best...