Friday, February 11, 2011

Now THIS Pisses Me Off! - NASA to Name Spaceship After Egyptian Protester

I read this headline and thought it was a joke.  And then I read the article looking for the punchline.  This is no joke. 
The United States space agency NASA has okayed the naming of one of its spaceships after a young Egyptian woman killed in late January during an anti-goverment protest, according to Egyptian daily Al-Masry-al-Youm. 

The paper quoted Essam Mohamed Haji, a young researcher at NASA as saying on Thursday he had received approval to put the young woman Sally Zahran's name on a spaceship heading for Mars.

Zahran, a 23 English graduated and translator died after she was beaten about the head on 28 January with a truncheons during clashes with security forces in in the Upper Egyptian governorate of Sohag. Anti-government protesters claim her killers were thugs in the pay of police.

“This is the least we could provide to Egyptian youth and revolutionaries. This step represents transferring the dreams of Egyptian youth from a small stretch of earth to the enormous expanse of space,” said Haji was cited as telling Al-Masri Al-Youm by phone from California.
What the hell are we doing honoring foreign revolutionaries with our tax dollars and with our space program?  Who, besides these nitwits at NASA thought this was a good idea?  Of all the Americans that could have been honored...from all walks of life...both past and present...all the people doing great and courageous things...soldiers giving their lives overseas...and they can't find one American to name this spaceship after?  Maybe I'm making too big of a deal out of this.  You guys tell me.

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