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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region Forumsunpopular opinion perhaps
I find the Blue Origin orbital flight with Katy Perry and the rest to be wholly out of touch and a gross flaunting of wealth. This needs to be condemned not applauded.
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questionseverything
(11,836 posts)brush
(61,033 posts)appearance being the 'key' word because one was not needed for the brief sub-orbital, 10-minute joy ride.
NJCher
(43,162 posts)I found it grotesque.
58Sunliner
(6,329 posts)They are women with careers who have chosen to orbit the planet. Not a good use of resources, and the attempt by Bezos and his partner to use this as a pr stunt given that Bezos and his partner bent their knees to a fascist rapist, is nauseating. Katy Perry looks tone deaf and complicit for not understanding that she is normalizing them.
questionseverything
(11,836 posts)
ProfessorGAC
(76,695 posts)...half of their rocket motors are non-emitting. They use liquid hydrogen & oxygen, so the emissions are water.
The other half use methane, so there are CO2 emissions galore.
I don't know, however, which motor was used for this needless joy ride.
I agree with the sentiment that these celebrities are being tone deaf.
Rebl2
(17,738 posts)MadameButterfly
(4,039 posts)Women in space not as important as refusing to align yourself with Nazis right now.
Oprah of all people should know better.
jrthin
(5,223 posts)to people who have it. She's a good show biz person, let's not extend that to other talents.
MadameButterfly
(4,039 posts)She showed up for Kamala. She knows right from wrong and her influence is important. This was a major oversight.
RJ-MacReady
(603 posts)Is Oprahs influence really important to Democrats? I disagree. In fact I feel the party needs to distance themselves from celebrities.
jrthin
(5,223 posts)Further, Oprah has said she is an independent, not a democrat.
MadameButterfly
(4,039 posts)We have a lot of celebrities willing to help our cause, and too many billionares supporting the other side.
You going to turn your nose up at Oprah and other celebrities to be pure?
We need everyone we can get.
RJ-MacReady
(603 posts)Being cozy with celebrities hurts us. It gives ammo to the narrative Democrats arw the elites. Example being Harris bringing out Beyonce, sorry but that kind of stuff does not bring in a single new voter. Nor does palling around with Oprah and other celebrities. We don't need their help since it's a net negative for our side.
slightlv
(7,790 posts)I disagree with the "narrative Democrats are the elites." That "narrative" carries weight because WE NEVER fought back against it. Period. You want elite? You can't get much more elite than a billionaire or a trillionaire, yet those all on the republican side. We "went high" and didn't do the same thing to them and the R's that the R's continually did to us. Frankly, I don't think aligning with anyone who is really of like mind... no matter how rich, famous, or poor they are... is necessarily a bad thing. It CAN bring more eyes to an issue, and accomplish other good when the "celebrity" is all in for the cause. I'm thinking of three heavy duty hitters (all male) who have founded world-wide organizations for one dismal issue after another in other countries at this point. It may be we'd be generous and allow them to concentrate focus on our problems here at home for a change. But they can be assured of being blacklisted in trumps America... just as it was during the Red Scare.
The bigger issue is not who is elite and who isn't and who is or is not yelling it the loudest. It's that for decades we Democrats (and Independents) have let the republicans get away with trash talking until now, the ultmost trash talker has set himself up as Prez. I'll stand behind anyone who raises their voice for our cause(s). I don't care who they are... I welcome their support.
MadameButterfly
(4,039 posts)We will always be Commies, Woke, Elite, etc. Even while they are only for billionaires and cozying up to the KGB.
There is no convincing them, they will always slander us because they don't have real issues to campaign on.
I agree with welcoming the support of all who will join our cause. This must include even Republicans come over late to our cause even though we are mad at them for voting Trump in in the first place. We only succeed if we win some of them over and shaming them for not figuring it out in the first place won't help. We are going to need a very wide net to get our democracy back. This is not the time to pick and choose who we welcome in.
jrthin
(5,223 posts)to get elected. Life is full of people who are talented in one particular area of their life yet a complete moron in the other areas. We have doctors who are highly skilled in their field, yet a complete idiot in conversations with them. Further, Oprah has said she is an independent, and not a democrat..
mdbl
(8,650 posts)I guess politics in America is just for the idiocracy now. There was always a fringe group but it's mainstream now. Pass the Brawndo.
MadameButterfly
(4,039 posts)to groom him as his puppet. He still doesn't know that the purpose of Putin's advice is to destroy America, not to help Trump.
hamsterjill
(17,577 posts)Oprah dries me nuts with her couch psychology. She has the answer for everything it seems. Well, I'm not too sure about that.
And I'm never going to forgive her for Dr. Oz.
justsomeguy01
(48 posts)I have always had the impression that she is far more about social justice, and is fully on board with economic injustice. Same for Ellen D. Sad.
calimary
(90,017 posts)It certainly can feel disillusioned. But then again, that's why it's good that you're here! LOTS of shared disillusionment but also a fair amount of empathy!
58Sunliner
(6,329 posts)Her kissing the ground was cringworthy and I dislike that term. The height of performative over exaggeration.
cab67
(3,749 posts)It was a 10-minute suborbital flight.
If they were all men, the relative lack of negative attention wouldn't be because they're men - it would be because there wouldn't be much attention at all.
58Sunliner
(6,329 posts)cab67
(3,749 posts)Sympthsical
(10,969 posts)The Dr. Evil penis rocket memes went on for weeks.
Figarosmom
(11,979 posts)Especially if the were dressed in skin tight suits and full on makeup and hair.
58Sunliner
(6,329 posts)
LisaM
(29,633 posts)I agree completely and it lowers my opinion of Katy Perry and Gayle King.
Scrivener7
(59,521 posts)GiqueCee
(4,252 posts)... is there a comprehensive list of charities to which Bozo has contributed? If there is, I'll bet it's quite short.
3Hotdogs
(15,368 posts)It was determined that the $14 was Eric's Boy Scout dues?
Fuck. Sorry for wasting your time.
onenote
(46,140 posts)He's donated several billion dollars and while that may only be a small percentage of his net worth, it's not peanuts. And he's committed to giving away most of his fortune.
If you want more info, I suggest Google.
yardwork
(69,364 posts)I don't know that he's actually given away billions. He's one of the billionaires (there are others) who have made a big show of setting up foundations to give away their wealth to solve the world's problems, but in actuality have given little.
I suspect it's all a tax dodge. In contrast, there are billionaires (Gates, Zuckerberg, Buffet, others) who set up professionally staffed foundations with regular funding cycles. They do what they said they'd do.
And Bezos's ex-wife is extremely generous.
yardwork
(69,364 posts)You're welcome to look up all their foundations, pull their 990s for the past 5 years, and make your own assessment.
onenote
(46,140 posts)yardwork
(69,364 posts)Now here's a trade secret. Look up where Bezos has actually given that money and see if you think it's legit.
onenote
(46,140 posts)Maybe you missed that.
And none of the recipients listed in the linked article appear to be anything other than legit. But if you have facts -- not unsubstantiated opinion and speculation -- to the contrary, please share.
Cirsium
(3,942 posts)Are you opposed to progressive taxation?
Do you agree with the Republicans that the wealthy contribute the most to the government budget and should therefore get a break?
After all, that is the logical extension of your remarks.
onenote
(46,140 posts)For the record, I support progressive taxation. I can’t think of a single thing the republicans believe that I agree with.
Now may I ask you a question?
How does my providing factual information about Bezos’ charitable contributions in response to a post that expressed curiosity about those contributions logically result in your highly insulting and plainly offensive assumptions about my views on taxation?
Maybe you were just sleep deprived when you posted. One might conclude that is the logical extension of your remarks.
Cirsium
(3,942 posts)You are the one defending Bezos and attacking those who disagree with you, so don't start playing the victim.
It is the percentage of one's wealth that matters, not the raw dollar amount, and the wealthier the person the less of an impact it has on them to donate a higher percentage. That was all that people pointed out to you. The same principle applies to taxation.
We won't even get into the tax benefits and public relations value for wealthy people to toss around some crumbs from their very expansive and luxurious table.
I am surprised that you are surprised that you get push back here when you praise Bezos.
I don't have a "concept of logic" whatever that is. I am applying logic. Sorry you feel insulted and offended by that.
onenote
(46,140 posts)I suppose you would prefer for folks on DU to lie and make shit up rather than have this be a place where people can get questions answered truthfully and accurately.
And, as pointed out in my original post as well as in a subsequent post, I noted that Bezos' contributions were only a small percentage of his net worth. Maybe you missed those posts? Maybe you just felt it fit your narrative to ignore them
Says a lot about you. None of it good.
Cirsium
(3,942 posts)No idea what you are on about nor why you are attacking me.
No one is lying nor making shit up about Bezo's.
Polybius
(21,900 posts)I'm grateful.
Cirsium
(3,942 posts)We should be grateful for the crumbs he throws us, unworthy as we are.
Polybius
(21,900 posts)Last edited Thu Apr 17, 2025, 10:18 PM - Edit history (1)
$4.1 billion could feed millions for generations. Hardly crumbs.
Cirsium
(3,942 posts)It is less than 2% of his hoard. What don't you get about that? He gave $4.1 billion? That means he is hoarding $211 billion.
The whole charity racket is a bunch of bs anyway, and I can't believe that any Democrats would praise and defend Bezos like this. He is a modern day robber baron. The existence of billionaires is incompatible with democracy, small "d" let alone capital "D."
Public needs should be met with public programs funded from the public treasury. The process should be democratic, not determined by one man who is controlling more wealth tha half of the US population.
Polybius
(21,900 posts)He contributed $4.1 billion more than 99.999999% of the rest of the country. He didn't have to contribute anything.
Cirsium
(3,942 posts)Most of us contribute a far greater percentage of our money to help others. Far more, and it requires a much greater sacrifice for us. Since working class people are more generous than the wealthy, if Bezos paid people decent wages, then much more money would go to help others, it just wouldn't make the news and it wouldn't capture the attention and admiration of people with poor reasoning skills.
You don't care, though, as you said.
Polybius
(21,900 posts)But certainly not far greater than $4.1. As for wages, he does pays decent. Average position is $22 per hour. Minimum wage is $15 or less in most states.
Cirsium
(3,942 posts)If working class people give a higher percentage of their income to help others, then if workers got a greater share of the profits generated by their work more money would go to help others. Money that is poured into the pockets of Bezos, therefore, means less charitable giving, not more.
As far as Bezos and the Amazon workers, I am supposed that any Democrats would defend the robber baron and Union buster.
How Amazon Is Taking Its Union-Busting to New Heights
Organizers describe fear tactics, amped-up security, and daily town halls as workers vote on whether to unionize.
Leading up to the election, Amazon has deployed its now-familiar union-busting arsenal to quash the worker-led movement at the nearly 5,000-person warehouse. Managers and HR professionals from across the country have flown in to patrol the shop floor and repeat anti-union talking points in small group meetings and warehouse-wide town halls. The company erected metal barricades between CAUSE’s tent and the warehouse. An anti-union video plays on an endless loop in the break room. “This place is starting to turn into a labor camp,” said Italo Medelius, an RDU1 worker and organizer with CAUSE.
https://www.thenation.com/article/activism/amazon-union-busting-north-carolina/
Amazon to pay $1.9 million to migrant contract workers to settle claims of human rights abuses
Amazon will pay $1.9 million to more than 700 contract migrant workers to address claims they were exposed to exploitative labor conditions. A report from Amnesty International and a separate investigation last year alleged abuses at Amazon warehouses in Saudi Arabia. Workers employed by third-party recruiting agencies faced exploitative contracts and squalid living conditions.
https://www.cnbc.com/2024/02/23/amazon-to-pay-1point9-million-in-contract-worker-exploitation-settlement.html
US Department of Labor finds Amazon exposed workers to unsafe conditions
The U.S. Department of Labor today announced that its Occupational Safety and Health Administration has issued citations at three more Amazon warehouses – in Aurora, Colorado; Nampa, Idaho; and Castleton, New York – for failing to keep workers safe and delivered hazard alert letters for exposing workers to ergonomic hazards.
https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/osha/osha20230201-0
Amazon Worker Rights: Issues At Home And Abroad
The median wage for American Amazon employees in 2018 was $35,096, an increase from the previous year in large part due to Amazon increasing its company minimum wage to $15/hour. Meanwhile, Jeff Bezo’s net worth is estimated around $165 billion, in large part of his share of Amazon stock. And while that net worth will decline temporarily by $38 billion owing to his divorce, it will increase again if Amazon stock continues its steady rise in value. By contrast, NPR notes that an Amazon employee making the minimum wage would need to work for 133 hours (or over three weeks) in order to afford one share of Amazon stock.
Reports depicting the grueling work conditions in Amazon warehouses, especially during seasonal sales, have continually dogged Amazon. Workers report long hours, timed bathroom breaks, surveillance of work productivity/speed, intense isolation from others, physically demanding quotas, and other difficult conditions to work under. These working conditions take a physical and mental toll on the workers, who are often treated more as a data set or a robot than as humans.
Amazon’s troubling labor abuses aren’t limited to their warehouses either. Amazon’s corporate offices have their share of toxic workplace cultures too. A 2015 expose on Amazon’s offices described an office that prioritized productivity and efficacy over all else, pushing their employees to physical, mental, and emotional limits. One employee was sent on a business trip the day after a miscarriage; another was put on a “performance improvement plan” while struggling with breast cancer. Employees shared experiences such has having their personal and working lives monitored, demanding work schedules, and a competitive workplace culture where employees were encouraged to sacrifice themselves – and their coworkers – in order to advance.
https://www.greenamerica.org/amazon-labor-exploitation-home-and-abroad
Sanders Calls for Investigation Into Amazon’s Labor Abuses
“Greed, in my view, is like a sickness. It is like an addiction. How else do you explain the mindset of Amazon, one of the wealthiest companies on the planet, run by Jeff Bezos, the wealthiest person on earth? The only thing these people care about is making more profit—they don’t give a damn if that means deliberately harming the human beings who work in their warehouses.
“It is unconscionable that in 2019, these Amazon warehouse workers are exposed to unrelenting physical demands, hazardous conditions, and even surveillance. And then, as they’re coping with serious work injuries, Amazon is working to conceal that information.
“I am demanding that the Department of Labor immediately investigate this rampant abuse. The American people will not stand for the obscenity of seeing Amazon warehouse workers die on the job and suffer injuries at double the levels of the rest of the industry, all just to line the pockets of Bezos and his rich friends.”
https://www.truthdig.com/articles/amazons-labor-abuses-are-more-appalling-than-you-think/
A Hard-Hitting Investigative Report Into Amazon Shows That Workers’ Needs Were Neglected In Favor Of Getting Goods Delivered Quickly
When you are running a far-flung global enterprise, employing over one million people, it's understandable that issues will arise. When you start to see a continual pattern, it's time to consider if the mistakes are purposely overlooked or if there is something else happening. A New York Times investigative report delved into allegations that Amazon has been systematically shortchanging workers on their paychecks.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackkelly/2021/10/25/a-hard-hitting-investigative-report-into-amazon-shows-that-workers-needs-were-neglected-in-favor-of-getting-goods-delivered-quickly/
Amazon Is Forcing Its Warehouse Workers Into Brutal ‘Megacycle’ Shifts
On January 25, hundreds of workers at an Amazon warehouse in Chicago were presented with a baffling choice: sign up for a ten-and-a-half-hour graveyard shift, or lose your job. Management informed workers that their warehouse, known as DCH1, would be shut down, and they were being offered a shift that runs from 1:20am to 11:50am, which is known as “megacycle,” at a new Chicago warehouse.
The ultimatum presented to workers at DCH1 reflects a broader strategy in the U.S. for Amazon. The company has been quietly transitioning warehouse workers at delivery stations nationwide to the “megacycle” shift in recent months. The megacycle shift collapses shorter shifts into one 10-hour shift that begins around 1 am and ends around lunchtime. It’s unclear where the term megacycle originated but it’s used by both managers and workers to describe 10-hour graveyard shifts, workers tell Motherboard. An Amazon spokesperson told Motherboard that more than half of its last-mile delivery network has already transitioned to the new model.
https://www.vice.com/en/article/amazon-is-forcing-its-warehouse-workers-into-brutal-megacycle-shifts/
shelshaw
(698 posts)Even Barbarella wouldn’t touch that one
FalloutShelter
(14,463 posts)
krkaufman
(13,961 posts)Just look at the Amazon logo.
JoseBalow
(9,487 posts)
GoneOffShore
(18,020 posts)TheRickles
(3,383 posts)She describes how the flight "broke boundaries and set records in the spouting of girlboss gibberish".
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/apr/15/lauren-sanchez-katy-perry-space-blue-origin-female-flight|
3Hotdogs
(15,368 posts)Hunter Thompson couldn't have summed it up better.
GoneOffShore
(18,020 posts)There's also some excellent snark in the comments section.
TheRickles
(3,383 posts)
niyad
(132,440 posts)kelly1mm
(5,756 posts)
NewHendoLib
(61,857 posts)niyad
(132,440 posts)niyad
(132,440 posts)(is there any other kind???) kardashians, khloe, about the 92-year-old grandfather of one of the women being at the site of the launch.
Gaugamela
(3,511 posts)
thucythucy
(9,103 posts)
LovelyStuff
(47 posts)Thought the flight was rather trashy myself.
calimary
(90,017 posts)Self-flattery sure can carry a big price tag.
no_hypocrisy
(54,905 posts)THESE were astronauts who happened to be female, and who paid the price for their tenacity:
Sharon Christa McAuliffe was an American teacher and astronaut from Concord, New Hampshire who died on the Space Shuttle Challenger on mission STS-51-L, where she was serving as a payload specialist.
Judith Arlene Resnik was an American electrical engineer, software engineer, biomedical engineer, pilot and NASA astronaut who died in the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. She was the fourth woman, the second American woman and the first Jewish woman of any nationality to fly in space, logging 145 hours in orbit.
DinahMoeHum
(23,604 posts)Feb 1, 2003. . .
Kalpana Chawla was an aerospace engineer and mission specialist
Laurel Clark was a medical doctor, flight surgeon, and mission specialist
malaise
(296,094 posts)Rec
twodogsbarking
(18,777 posts)
NNadir
(38,041 posts)
allegorical oracle
(6,480 posts)children. A bit too much of a stunt intended to stroke egos.
Buddyzbuddy
(2,617 posts)
genxlib
(6,135 posts)It did not advance science, space exploration or feminism.
You could even say that including Bezos mistress is a leap back for feminism.
The only thing it did advance was PR and it would seem much of that has been negative.
Pototan
(3,132 posts)K&R
Irish_Dem
(81,259 posts)I cannot understand the accolades.
NewHendoLib
(61,857 posts)k_buddy762
(638 posts)Kissing the ground? Are you serious?
Conjuay
(3,067 posts)Earned respect of the planet.
calimary
(90,017 posts)Boy were there a lot of new members on this thread!
Glad you're with us here, too, k_buddy762!
Hope22
(4,746 posts)They got nothing!!! New pastime for the extremely wealthy…..scare themselves silly to feel alive while the rest of us can hardly breathe day In and day out!
tritsofme
(19,900 posts)Frankly, who cares? This is the equivalent to celebrity gossip as far as I’m concerned.
alarimer
(17,146 posts)Nothing but a stunt by rich people. Not empowering, since they did nothing resembling actual science.
Happy Hoosier
(9,535 posts)Airplanes uised to be rich peoples' toys too. Still are in a large sense, but the advances they hel;ped push benefited all of us.
Such displays of wealth can and DO help drive advancements, and I see no benefit in wagging a finger at them.
Condemend? Why? WE need to avoif being absolutel prigs in my opinion.
Conjuay
(3,067 posts)Space exploration has given us anything productive? I don't believe so.
Happy Hoosier
(9,535 posts)Holy crap mu dude... space exploration has given us:
Communications Satellites
WEATHER satellites
LANDSAT
GPS
A myriad of advancements in chemistry
A greater understanding of planetary science
Knowledge about human performance (my local university has been involved in a human performance study that studies how exercise works.... including tissue samples/test results from 8 astronauts.)
And a less tangible but equally importnt factor: It inspired people like me to become engneers and scientists.
AND TONS OF OTHER STUFF.
Maeve
(43,456 posts)No, seriously...weather, GPS, communications...so many side benefits of space exploration including some of the developments you are using right now connectng to the internet.
Farmer-Rick
(12,667 posts)It wasn't until the government started using planes for mail did it become profitable. And then of course they are great for war. So, keeping an airline industry is useful for the military.
Without government funding and subsidies, the airlines wouldn't be making much profit. Even as it is their profits are between 2 to 3 percent. It's a sham "private" industry. You pay for it twice. You pay through your taxes and you pay through your tickets, fees and uncomfortable seating. But it's blessed by fake capitalists who use your tax dollars like toilet paper.
It's what will happen with space flight. A rich man's game secretly funded by the government to allow development for war.
Happy Hoosier
(9,535 posts)
Ol Janx Spirit
(1,012 posts)...ever devised was pure comic genius! I laughed so hard at the entire spectacle that I still don't think I've recovered. They delivered their lines perfectly--right up to Katy kissing the ground like she'd been held hostage in Iran for 444 days. Comic perfection. 
calimary
(90,017 posts)Irony lives, doesn't it? And lives VERY WELL, I might add.
jrthin
(5,223 posts)
Ocelot II
(130,528 posts)No, what we witnessed in Jeff Bezos' for-profit Blue Origin space adventure was perhaps the most conspicuous exploitation of female imagery to bolster the reputations of the oligarchs—almost all of whom are violent men.
Katy Perry said of her flight that she felt 'connected' more than ever and hoped her efforts wouldn't only 'take up space, but to make space.' This sort of faux feminist babble might pass the muster on Good Morning America, but let's recount the ways this spectacle was one of the most audacious displays of power by the billionaire class.
Today is Tax Day, otherwise known as the day that people who make $30-150k fork over a quarter of their income so that the richest people on earth like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos can dodge taxes and pay next to nothing. To be clear, Elon Musk doesn't even want to go to Mars, the whole thing is a massive ploy so SpaceX can collect tens of billions in government handouts every year, all while paying next to zero in federal taxes. When you've dismantled NASA and FAA, made yourself the only provider, and you personally install the president and pick the head of NASA, you can't lose. Easy money.
If the billionaires came out and just said the truth, not a single person would support them. So y'all are going to bilk the public coffers of tens of billions, every year, pay no taxes, and then pilfer off a bunch for yourselves?!?! Who in their right mind would support this? This is where the deceptively curated group of sexy, Brown, Black, Asian, and plastic women assume their expected roles. All the colors of the Girl Power rainbow, with sexy Barbie astronaut spacesuits designed by Bezos' wife and a European fashion designer.
The spectacle doesn't end there...Elon Musk, Zuckerberg, and the other billionaires have funded and enabled Trump to launch a full scale assault against every woman in this country. Hours before the Rocket launch, the GOP controlled Congress passed the SAVES Act, thereby compromising the voting rights for a vast majority of American women.
As the media praised these empty celebrities, Elon and Trump were firing tens of thousands of women scientists, doctors, cancer researchers, and weather forecasters from NASA, the FAA, the FDA, the NHS, and dozens of other federal agencies who keep our society running. I can't even describe the exact words Elon Musk used to denigrate these essential workers because Facebook classifies it as Hate Speech.
While we're being forced fed billionaire PR and galactic pinkwashing, the most accomplished American heroines, astronauts, and scientists are being scrubbed from government websites and their photos ripped off the walls at NASA.
To be clear, women have been to space. Actual scientists. And their history and memory are being buried to enable the billionaire crime spree. They keep showing rockets going to space like we haven't seen that shit since the late 1950s. SpaceX is nothing more than privatized NASA. There is literally no valued added. No innovation. Just a straight funnel to a privately controlled company now valued at $300 billion, the new source of Elon's wealth.
Amidst these historic threats and assaults against women in America, we didn't hear a single word of concern from these wealthy celebrities. At the end of the day, they know their place and priority: to keep the vast majority of working people enthralled with the spectacle so we can't see all the ways their handlers oppress us.
This is a story of six absolute bozos who took an 11 minute amusement park joyride, accomplishing nothing except thirsty PR for their predatory billionaire friends.
This isn't feminism. This isn't science. These are awful women who have dedicated their short time on earth covering up the crimes of even more wicked men.
Prairie_Seagull
(4,688 posts)But hey their hair looked good as they performed. Courage looks a lot like the Guardian author Marina Hyde. (link to her article up thread)
Sympthsical
(10,969 posts)She's a legitimate scientist and all around amazing human being. An astronaut-in-training who put her career on hold to advocate for victims of sexual assault. If this was her chance to experience in some small way what she gave up to do the important work she does, I am pleased for her.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amanda_Nguyen
The rest of them . . . ugh. And of course Oprah was lurking around in all that. Of course she was. If there is an event horizon for egotistical self-absorption, Oprah will get on camera somewhere.
Jughead
(144 posts)Was the millionaire amusement ride first and then the firebombed governors mansion story.
The media so grovels.
calimary
(90,017 posts)A cheap "lead". Belongs at the back of the newscast in the "kicker" section. It really shouldn't be a lead story. But I guess them's the times we're livin' in...
Ponietz
(4,330 posts)Trailblazing vapid human nature.
Rebl2
(17,738 posts)
get the red out
(14,031 posts)The arrogance makes me want to puke!
dchill
(42,660 posts)But they'd really love to be relevant again!
Ponietz
(4,330 posts)
FoxNewsSucks
(11,701 posts)it's a shameful display of grotesque wealth while others starve.
Worse and more likely, it's that and a look at the future where a handful of corporations control space. Instead of the benefits going to the public.
Cirsium
(3,942 posts)You just aren't feeling the love. We may not be able to return illegally detained people from El Salvador, but we can throw millions at ridiculous stunts like this.
"I feel super-connected to love," Perry said. "I think this experience has shown me how much love is inside of me."
Perry sang "What a Wonderful World" while the group was in space.
Oprah Winfrey was there, and reportedly wept.
Jeff Bezos' fiancée, Lauren Sanchez was onboard.
Journalist Gayle King thanked both Jesus and Bezos. "I am glad I did it. I have no regrets. I'm stepping away from my comfort zone. I may now get my ears pierced" King said. "We've had some cranky Yankees and haters," she said. "I've heard you. I'm not going to let you, I'm not going to let you steal our joy but most people are really excited and cheering us on and realize what this mission means to young women, young girls and boys, too."
ToxMarz
(2,929 posts)That's what they were able to find for 'celebrities' to make it a "cool" event. Katy Perry was married to Russel Brand don't forget, so her judgement means zilch. (Though I'm sure she did it because she thought that would be "cool" too.)
Though it might have been a hoot if they got Russel Brand and Oprah stuck together up there, with no where to escape.
kimbutgar
(27,248 posts)I could give a shit about that stunt. But I wonder if the flight will affect the Botox fillers of these women!
Mustellus
(417 posts)... as a career "rocket scientist", that the business model for these suborbital flights would be to grab as much money as possible until you blow up a Very Important Person.
MIButterfly
(2,693 posts)Last edited Wed Apr 16, 2025, 04:51 PM - Edit history (1)
I read an item about it yesterday (I hesitate to call it a news item) and every comment was negative; not a single one praised or defended it. I thought it was pretty out of touch and uninspiring myself. More like a carnival ride and attention-getter than anything else.
GoreWon2000
(1,461 posts)which is a great thing. BTW, I don't recall such backlash when the passengers were men.
MIButterfly
(2,693 posts)to become scientists and astronauts?
Because, quite frankly, I just don't see it. This was no giant step forward for womankind.
And I believe there was a backlash when the passengers were men. It was just long enough ago to be forgotten by now.
OLDMDDEM
(3,185 posts)
Upthevibe
(10,180 posts)I agree 100%! I think it's awful....
serbbral
(333 posts)I don't get the enormous amount of hate toward these women, jealousy perhaps. I will admit, I am not a fan of Katy Perry, but jeeze. These women were offered the opportunity to do this and took it. No, some were not scientists/astronauts, but I do not know why there is so much hatred. Wow!
dutch777
(5,068 posts)paulkienitz
(1,507 posts)which means it's all worth it.
Passages
(4,161 posts)It was a pathetic display.
JustABozoOnThisBus
(24,681 posts)His fawning oration of the wonder of it all was probably longer than the flight.
mzmolly
(52,793 posts)I’m in no mood to celebrate that bullshit.
SunSeeker
(58,283 posts)It was a PR disaster for all involved.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/emily-ratajkowski-says-shes-disgusted-by-katy-perrys-space-mission-and-many-agree_n_67fe7cc6e4b0095bc49087db
aggiesal
(10,802 posts)I don't mind high flying commercial aircraft, it would save gas,
but I have no idea what as space pod is useful for humanity, other than the for wealthy.
Iamscrewed
(486 posts)Smoke and mirrors, they got to experience weightless for 3 minutes and see into space. It's an expensive propaganda show. 
calimary
(90,017 posts)Yeah, it's a shame. Seems like the ultimate vanity move. Glad they can afford it, but I can't help thinking about how that money could help people in genuine need.
Figarosmom
(11,979 posts)And privileged.
Meowmee
(9,212 posts)Leave it to professionals etc.
blizzard49
(4 posts)Complete waste of money with no scientific benefit.
calimary
(90,017 posts)I'm sure there are arguments in favor, but gee whiz - at a time like this? I keep thinking how much that kind of money would actually help people who need help.
jkthom
(2 posts)Totally agree with you!
calimary
(90,017 posts)Indeed! It's hard not to!
OldBaldy1701E
(11,142 posts)
tirebiter
(2,699 posts)
Mike Nelson
(10,943 posts)... it was repulsive.
Polybius
(21,900 posts)I've got a few opinions that are much more unpopular here.
mama
(185 posts)We visited this small and interesting museum of space history a couple years ago. There's a room with the pictures and info about the women who have served on the space station. I was shocked at the number of mostly anonymous female astronauts, superior scientists all. It really ticks me off that these space-models get the attention when the real scientists, men and women, are the ones who deserve it.
Looking at Wikipedia, the current number of women who have traveled in space is 104.
Oopsie Daisy
(6,670 posts)Prairie_Seagull
(4,688 posts)feel welcomed. This is a serious place but also a fun one.
cab67
(3,749 posts)...the opening sequence to the two years of Josie and the Pussycats cartoons set in space.