I apologize if I offend anyone for my next line...

This is friggin' retarded...

United Nations to appoint space ambassador

Good thing those tribal and religious killing in Congo and Sudan stopped so we can deal with more pressing matters...

__________________
"You get the respect that you give" - cnredd

Are you sure that isn't suppose to read, United Nations To Appoint Spaced Ambassador?

__________________
And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country.

John F. Kennedy January 20th 1960

Already done! Al Gore's head is our ambassador to the Universe!

__________________
“Quod scripsi, scripsi"

"Sometimes, the source of the beautiful dawning light that drives back the darkness, is your house burning"

I vote for GORT...

I hope we do meet extra terrestrials one day. We don't have the money to pursue all that at present I guess. But as I see it mining other planets or something of that nature could be the next economic boom.
The UN is getting weird.

__________________
...

Calling UN actions friggin' retarded is giving them too much credit.

Thousands of people already claim they have met ET's. I don't know about the validity of their claims, but I believe that they believe.
That being said, if there truly are ET's out there, and they ever make themselves known to the human race openly, it will destroy our political, social, and religious institutions and cause much disturbance and negative actions. At the current level of human evolution, I really don't think we want to see anything like this any time soon.

Why do you think the governments of the world go to so much trouble to deny UFO existence.

Interesting that they chose a third world representative.

__________________
When seconds count the police are only minutes away.

mining other planets for what?
another fossil fuel?
I thought we wanted to limit fossil fuels; not increase their use.
who would do the mining?
would this be American jobs or foreign jobs?
American companies or foreign companies?
how would this be taxed?
International/interplanetary taxes?
would there be wars for staking claims to mining materials on other planets?
would cap & trade (if it's ever put into law) apply to those mined materials --- including the fossil fuels burned while doing the mining & any pollution the mined materials might contribute to this planet once used here; or would they be exempt?

Before we consider mining on other planets how about we actually start extracting the materials on this planet without figuring ways to make it more expensive.

__________________
"Free people are not equal & equal people are not free." --- Mackinac Center for Public Policy

Well there you have it. We probably will never know what entrepreneurship could be gleaned from a serious space program. I think it would be exciting and productive (given a better economy ). But there are those who would complicate it to the point of failure instead of see the potential for us all.
We don't live on other planets (yet) or moons so I would think many would favor extracting minerals from outer space.

__________________
...