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Comment by nemof | Hacker News Reader

shit let's cancel the olympics, i'll get the IOC on the blower.

I'm as partisan a sports fan as any and I'm still struggling to quite understand the fascination amongst the general public that hasn't paid that much attention to the ISS beforehand. This isn't really showing off the competitive prowess or cultural influence of fellow Brits; this is just a routine addition to a decades old international project who happens to be British.

Especially when Britain already has pretty interesting space projects conceived and based in Britain, supported by our taxes and employing mostly Britons...

> This isn't really showing off the competitive prowess or cultural influence of fellow Brits; this is just a routine addition to a decades old international project who happens to be British.

There was a time when we weren't participating in the ESA at all. The fact that we're now an active enough part to send someone up on an ESA mission is pretty big. (Equally I'd celebrate if we were e.g. adding a British-built module to the ISS). Much as I long for a revival of the Black Arrow, space is probably an international endeavor these days.

yeah it's pretty arbitrary i absolutely agree! i think people like a reason to pat themselves on the back. not dissimilar to all the "britain remaining on the world stage" tripe we had recently with the syria vote - people want to feel relevant; sometimes it's by showing military force, others its through an appointed hero we can deify.

Erm, yeah? The Olympics are a hugely expensive celebration of jingoism. We'd be better off without them.

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