http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/07/05/nasa-chief-frontier-better-relations-muslims/

(OMG FAUX NEWS rabble rabble rabble)

Quote :

"NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said in a recent interview that his "foremost" mission as the head of America's space exploration agency is to improve relations with the Muslim world. Though international diplomacy would seem well outside NASA's orbit, Bolden said in an interview with Al Jazeera that strengthening those ties was among the top tasks President Obama assigned him. He said better interaction with the Muslim world would ultimately advance space travel. "When I became the NASA administrator -- or before I became the NASA administrator -- he charged me with three things. One was he wanted me to help re-inspire children to want to get into science and math, he wanted me to expand our international relationships, and third, and perhaps foremost, he wanted me to find a way to reach out to the Muslim world and engage much more with dominantly Muslim nations to help them feel good about their historic contribution to science ... and math and engineering," Bolden said in the interview. Bolden has faced criticism this year for overseeing the cancellation of the agency's Constellation program, which was building new rockets and spaceships capable of returning astronauts to the moon. "

Wat... Make them feel good about their contributions?? Seriously how many times do we have to thank them for inventing zero or some shit like a few thousand years ago? Better interaction with the muslim world will advance space travel? WHAT... THE... FUCK...

This shit keeps getting weirder and weirder. Who the fuck says some shit like this? What the fuck does Islam have to do with rocketry? I mean, besides Hezbollah's obvious interest in the subject matter.

shit.

is that why Obama wants to enlist their help? fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu




[Edited on July 5, 2010 at 8:23 PM. Reason : ]

7/5/2010 8:16:08 PM

The discovery of lunar Muslims would turn this into a false dichotomy.

7/5/2010 8:28:44 PM

A lot of muslims are confirmed moon bats. Maybe Obama never realized that is just an expression, not a literal description.

7/5/2010 8:31:21 PM

Great thread

7/5/2010 8:58:27 PM

Ooooohhhbama

He just tries so hard with his policy of engagement. It's almost comical.

During the Healthcare debate, he spent most of his political capital trying to reach across the aisle to Republicans whose whole agenda was to sabotage and derail healthcare reform in any way, shape or form, only to finally realize what everyone else already knew, that he would have to ram his own package through over GOP objections.

With Iran, he has bent over backwards to try to prod them into some kind of rapprochement, posting a plea to the Iranian people on youtube, writing letters to Khamenei, etc., only to see them become more strident and continue to build up their nuclear capabilities.

He has basically ignored occupied Georgia and backed out of a missile-defense agreement with Poland in order to appease and engage Russia, only to see them spit in his eye with this stupid spy flap and other hijinks.

He pushed for bilateral talks and a free-trade deal in North Korea, only to see more bluster, an increase in nuclear testing and that torpedo attack on a South Korean warship.


He just tries so hard to find common ground with those who have their entire agenda tied to demonizing him and his administration. I suppose it is very noble of him, but it also appears to be very naive, considering how many times he has been duped his short tenure so far as President. I appreciate the change of pace from the myopic hubris of the Bush administration, but ultimately he's gotta use some sticks instead of only carrots in his foreign policy.

[Edited on July 5, 2010 at 9:09 PM. Reason : 2]

7/5/2010 9:08:03 PM

i agree with the OP, except for this factual mistake

Quote :

"inventing zero or some shit like a few thousand years ago?"

it was more than just inventing zero... in fact, it was substantial enough that a lot of modern medicine, science, and math directly rests on their discoveries and inventions.

also, it couldn't have been a "few thousand" years ago. that's the egyptians, romans, and the greeks.

to edify solinari:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_contributions_to_Medieval_Europe
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_science
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_astronomy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin_translations_of_the_12th_century
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inventions_in_the_Muslim_world

while europe was in the dark ages and people believed in magic, alchemy, and witches, muslims were advancing and pioneering several branches of math, science, and medicine.

true story, bro.

Quote :

"Robert Briffault wrote in The Making of Humanity: "The debt of our science to that of the Arabs does not consist in startling discoveries or revolutionary theories; science owes a great deal more to Arab culture, it owes its existence. The ancient world was, as we saw, pre- scientific. The astronomy and mathematics of the Greeks were a foreign importation never thoroughly acclimatized in Greek culture. The Greeks systematized, generalized and theorized, but the patient ways of investigation, the accumulation of positive knowledge, the minute methods of science, detailed and prolonged observation, experimental inquiry, were altogether alien to the Greek temperament. [...] What we call science arose in Europe as a result of a new spirit of inquiry, of new methods of investigation, of the method of experiment, observation, measurement, of the development of mathematics in a form unknown to the Greeks. That spirit and those methods were introduced into the European world by the Arabs."[17][page needed] Science is the most momentous contribution of Arab civilization to the modern world, but its fruits were slow in ripening. Not until long after Moorish culture had sunk back into darkness did the giant to which it had given birth, rise in his might. It was not science only which brought Europe back to life. Other and manifold influences from the civilization of Islam communicated its first glow to European life.""

Quote :

"George Sarton wrote in the Introduction to the History of Science: "The main, as well as the least obvious, achievement of the Middle Ages was the creation of the experimental spirit and this was primarily due to the Muslims down to the 12th century.""

Quote :

"Oliver Joseph Lodge wrote in the Pioneers of Science: "The only effective link between the old and the new science is afforded by the Arabs. The dark ages come as an utter gap in the scientific history of Europe, and for more than a thousand years there was not a scientific man of note except in Arabia.""

Quote :

"Fielding H. Garrison wrote in the History of Medicine: "The Saracens themselves were the originators not only of algebra, chemistry, and geology, but of many of the so-called improvements or refinements of civilization, such as street lamps, window-panes, firework, stringed instruments, cultivated fruits, perfumes, spices, etc...""

Quote :

"John J. O'Connor and Edmund F. Robertson wrote in the MacTutor History of Mathematics archive: "Recent research paints a new picture of the debt that we owe to Islamic mathematics. Certainly many of the ideas which were previously thought to have been brilliant new conceptions due to European mathematicians of the sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth centuries are now known to have been developed by Persian/Islamic mathematicians around four centuries earlier.""

Quote :

"Will Durant wrote in The Story of Civilization IV: The Age of Faith: "Chemistry as a science was almost created by the Moslems; for in this field, where the Greeks (so far as we know) were confined to industrial experience and vague hypothesis, the Saracens introduced precise observation, controlled experiment, and careful records. "

7/5/2010 9:13:33 PM

bla bla bla... my point was, that shit happened a long ass time ago

Quote :

"He just tries so hard to find common ground with those who have their entire agenda tied to demonizing him and his administration. I suppose it is very noble of him, but it also appears to be very naive, considering how many times he has been duped his short tenure so far as President. I appreciate the change of pace from the myopic hubris of the Bush administration, but ultimately he's gotta use some sticks instead of only carrots in his foreign policy."

QFT

7/5/2010 9:25:30 PM

"a few thousand years ago" = hyperbole for "happened a long ass time ago"

fair enough

"inventing zero or some shit" = their contributions were too small or too great?

7/5/2010 9:30:36 PM

"inventing zero or some shit" = find some new material to be proud about

maybe this is why Obama is trying to get NASA to make friendly with Islam...

7/5/2010 9:35:00 PM

A simple thread from a simple man.

7/5/2010 9:37:09 PM

^^ you cracked it, my brother

7/5/2010 9:39:59 PM

National
Arab
Sucking up
Association

7/5/2010 9:41:45 PM

Nah, I really think Obama was impressed with Hizbollah's rocket skills during their last attempt to slaughter Israeli children.

7/5/2010 9:43:02 PM

maybe he wants the arabs to develop as good rockets as the israelis have, so then they can target israeli civilians precisely, instead of lobbing very imprecise rockets and hoping they hit civilians and not land in the middle of a farm/desert?

if you think about it, it makes a lot of sense considering his love of a-rabs and hatred of israelis of late.


[Edited on July 5, 2010 at 9:51 PM. Reason : ]

7/5/2010 9:46:51 PM

it is really getting comical....yet sad

7/5/2010 9:57:54 PM

Ansari X Prize

7/6/2010 12:22:06 AM

what a stupid retard.

7/6/2010 8:41:43 AM

Quote :

"Who the fuck says some shit like this?"

Hopefully just a bureaucrat telling an Al-Jazeera reporter what he wants to hear.

7/6/2010 9:18:51 AM

I'll bet trying to face Mecca while going 18,000 miles per hour is a real bitch.

Death to America.

7/6/2010 8:31:19 PM

The real trick is getting rid of those sultry westernized space suits and developing a burqa that can operate in a vacuum.

7/6/2010 11:49:32 PM

Quote :

"Hopefully just a bureaucrat telling an Al-Jazeera reporter what he wants to hear."

Hopefully it's just an Al-Jazeera reporter making up some bullshit and then fox news took the posted story from their website/news broadcast and ran with it.

God, I hope it's not true. >_<

7/7/2010 12:54:49 AM

go ahead and add this to the list of "things nobody should really give a shit about, but for some reason do because i didn't vote for the guy" list.

7/7/2010 1:11:58 AM

^^^ LOL! Winner!

7/7/2010 1:51:51 AM

I did vote for the guy, and I think it's ridiculous. But I also suspect it's a little exaggerated. I doubt Obama actually instructed him to make Muslim relations his top priority. I think he was just saying that to try to make nice with the with Arab press.

7/7/2010 9:06:16 AM

Quote :

"I'll bet trying to face Mecca while going 18,000 miles per hour is a real bitch"

just build a new space mecca on the moon.

7/7/2010 9:13:21 AM

Quote :

"What the fuck does Islam have to do with rocketry? I mean, besides Hezbollah's obvious interest in the subject matter."

hahaha

Quote :

"With Iran, he has bent over backwards to try to prod them into some kind of rapprochement, posting a plea to the Iranian people on youtube, writing letters to Khamenei, etc., only to see them become more strident and continue to build up their nuclear capabilities. He has basically ignored occupied Georgia and backed out of a missile-defense agreement with Poland in order to appease and engage Russia, only to see them spit in his eye with this stupid spy flap and other hijinks."

***I want to comment on this stuff, but I've gotta go back to work. This is a note to myself for later.***

7/7/2010 9:36:35 AM

Quote :

"just build a new space mecca on the moon."

But then the Jews will show up and be all like, "hey, get off our holy moon."

[Edited on July 7, 2010 at 9:40 AM. Reason : ]

7/7/2010 9:40:10 AM

Excellent.. Keep the gaffes coming Obama. November is right around the corner.

7/7/2010 10:09:22 AM

silliness.

is Obama going to put the IRS in charge of welcome baskets?

7/7/2010 11:48:34 AM

this thread is full of

but there is a glimmer of truth:

Quote :

"go ahead and add this to the list of "things nobody should really give a shit about, but for some reason do because i didn't vote for the guy" list."

[Edited on July 7, 2010 at 11:56 AM. Reason : .]

7/7/2010 11:55:43 AM

7/7/2010 12:26:35 PM

reagan and bush sr. getting a saudi prince into space onboard a shuttle as a way of pandering to the royal family was much worse than a guy playing up an interview to appeal to the audience

[Edited on July 7, 2010 at 5:03 PM. Reason : /]

7/7/2010 4:49:07 PM

this thread is full of

7/8/2010 6:26:54 AM

Quote :

"With Iran, he has bent over backwards to try to prod them into some kind of rapprochement, posting a plea to the Iranian people on youtube, writing letters to Khamenei, etc., only to see them become more strident and continue to build up their nuclear capabilities"

Rumors are out there we've sent a group of 12 (not sure of the terminology to describe just what we've sent) through the Suez and they are sitting off Irans coast.

7/8/2010 6:51:56 AM

Rumors are out there we've sent a group of 12 photocopiers through the Suez and they are sitting off Irans coast.

http://watchout4snakes.com/creativitytools/RandomWord/RandomWordPlus.aspx

7/8/2010 9:49:07 AM

Quote :

"[Muslim outreach] was not his task. And that's not the task of NASA."

--Robert Gibbs commenting on NASA Administrator Charles Bolden's comments concerning his "foremost" task of Muslim outreach.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foXcYpCQaVQ

Is there anyone the Obama administration won't throw under the bus?

7/14/2010 4:08:35 AM

1) I hate to positively reference a lazarus post, but I think he's right: in all likelihood, this is just a bureaucrat telling an audience what they wanted to hear. You don't make a guy head of NASA because he's a brilliant diplomat, you (hopefully) do it because he knows something about rockets and shit.

2) Although this particular incident was heavy-handed and incompetent, there's nothing wrong with trying to build bridges to the Muslim world, even in such unorthodox ways. There's a billion of them, sooner or later we'll have to get along, get over it.

3) Even if Bolden was idiotic in this issue, if he's a competent administrator I don't care. Again -- the NASA head is not a diplomat. He can be dumb as hell talking to foreign reporters if he does alright at his actual job.

---

Quote :

"He has basically ignored occupied Georgia and backed out of a missile-defense agreement with Poland in order to appease and engage Russia, only to see them spit in his eye with this stupid spy flap and other hijinks.""

This part of your post is pretty dumb. He didn't ignore Georgia -- last week Hilary Clinton was over there on his orders blasting the Russians for not abiding by their agreement. Just because it doesn't get news coverage over here doesn't mean it isn't happening.

And the spies were over here looooong before Obama took over, and he green lit arresting the motherfuckers.

The missile defense thing...well, I like keeping Poland as allies, but let's face facts: ICBM's are not our biggest threat, and our system to defend against them is not exactly foolproof.

ON TOP OF WHICH...what exactly would you have had him do with Russia? It's a difficult question whether or not you want to admit it. They still have a giant stockpile of nukes, an enormous country impossible to occupy, great diplomatic sway over much of the world, a surprising amount of money, and a fairly unified populace. So what, pray tell, do we do? We can't bomb, invade, out-diplomacy, buy them out, or set them against each other.

7/14/2010 4:28:44 AM

^ The White House has now confirmed that Bolden "misspoke." I can live with that.

But no typically long-winded lecture from you about my supporting Obama in outreach is necessary. In fact, I have praised the Obama administration for a type of international outreach in this very forum:

Quote :

"Hip-hop is actually being used in an attempt to affect behavior, just as jazz and other art forms have been: U.S. Diplomacy: Hitting the Right Notes The State Department's Rhythm Road Program Sends Musical Ambassadors to the World, Conveying American Values With a Beat July 4, 2010 http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/07/04/sunday/main6645542.shtml"

Quote :

"And this is outreach that I support. The Obama administration deserves credit for this program."

hooksaw

http://thewolfweb.com/message_topic.aspx?topic=597814&page=2

In any event, your post simply glides over the fact that Bolden mistakenly declared Muslim outreach to be his "foremost" task. Those of us here who are also not "diplomats" (because you don't have to be one to know this) knew instinctively that this Bolden's statement was just flat-out wrong. Thankfully, the White House has now set the record straight.

7/14/2010 4:42:01 AM

I hope I made it clear that I agree with you and the President that Bolden was in error. If not I apologize. Outreach of any kind is not and should not be the NASA guy's first priority.

I merely meant to imply that this issue was not really threadworthy (although so little is that eventually gets a thread), not newsworthy (ditto), and certainly not meriting of the anti-muslim trolling that it received in the first post.

[Edited on July 14, 2010 at 4:47 AM. Reason : typo]

7/14/2010 4:47:04 AM

He narrates the Shuttle Launch Experience down at Kennedy Space Center (before he was made head of NASA). He was funny and it is a great ride so he's a thumbs up in my book. I do find it a little odd that they would forgo the moon in favor of Mars. Sure they see the potential for use of He3. Oh well.

7/14/2010 4:58:06 AM

^^ and ^ Fair enough.

[Edited on July 14, 2010 at 4:58 AM. Reason : .]

7/14/2010 4:58:17 AM

I was no more anti-muslim than 99% of the users on here are anti-israel

7/14/2010 10:42:26 AM

By your logic this would make you a virulent anti-Muslim bigot.

7/14/2010 11:54:16 AM

^

7/14/2010 12:04:45 PM

perhaps

7/14/2010 1:36:16 PM

well...uh...nothing else to say, really.

7/14/2010 1:42:55 PM

I mean, of course, the flip side to that is that by your logic I am not.

7/14/2010 1:46:43 PM

^
...but why would you have been using his logic and not yours. (you fucking bigot)

At least you [tacitly] admit, now, that you are "perhaps" bigoted against Muslims.
Perhaps that explains why you label everyone critical of Israel to be anti-Semitic.

[Edited on July 14, 2010 at 1:50 PM. Reason : ]

7/14/2010 1:50:26 PM

or why you label anyone critical of islam to be a bigot

[Edited on July 14, 2010 at 2:20 PM. Reason : ]

7/14/2010 2:15:29 PM

Does someone being anti-Christian make them a bigot?

7/14/2010 2:21:06 PM