Doug... wrote in message ...
Yeah -- I half-expected to see a line like "NASA consultant Bob Haller
said, 'We're never going to fly anyone for that long -- it's an
invitation to disaster! Hell, just going into space is too risky. We
should just sit and shove our thumbs up our own asses and let countries
who have no respect for my definition of 'safety' risk THEIR necks
exploring space."

Actually, getting to space is WAY TOO risky. What person in a right
mind would sit in a vehicle with oversized firecrackers strapped to
it? What person in a right mind would stay in cans for months, even up
to a year?

But seriously, there does seem to be a bad rash of chicken-little
thinking going on here. If Chiao doesn't want to be away from his
family for a whole year, **** him -- find one of the astronauts who
doesn't mind and give the flight to him/her.

Or... Maybe send his whole family up there with him? Astronauts always
wish that they got their family with them. Maybe the start of space
tourism should start with astronauts taking their whole family or at
least some members of their family with them.

But then again, there's the "Swiss Family Robinson in Space"

If the doctors are playing
chicken little, find doctors who can judge based on the facts and not
their "gut feelings" on the subject.

'Gut feeling' is what keep us safe from doing unnecessary things.
Actually, all of us have gut feelings of NOT getting into a rocket and
blast off. Now whether this is good or bad, it's up for one to decide
by oneself.

There's also some truths to be know, they are 'someone don't know
everything' and 'there are somethings that are meant to be left
unknown'.

Then again, America is becoming a gutless society whose members would
rather sit in locked homes in terror that some bearded monkey might fly
an airliner into their neighborhood

Er.... I don't think that Uncle Sam would want to do that, or would
he?

http://www.uni-marburg.de/anatomie/l.../uncle-sam.gif

Or maybe is this bearded monkey instead?

http://www.savethemales.ca/osama.gif

Oh well... It doesn't matter, both serves the same master anyway, and
both acted only as a mere publicity tool while the real mastermind
actually done all the work,

http://www.savethemales.ca/251102.html

Or maybe it was a bunch of monkeys playing around with remote
controlled aircrafts?

http://geocities.com/mknemesis/homerun.html

than go out and live their lives --
so this decision doesn't surprise me in the least.

Doubtful, since Americans are still doing their everyday lives, though
recently they are sure been terrorized by the news, corporate actions,
organizations actions, and governments actions.

Doug