Billionaire blasts into space

Come back to Earth, rocket man

The Associated Press

Hungarian-born U.S. software designer and space tourist Charles Simonyi, crew member of the 19th mission to the International Space Station, ISS, is seen prior to the launch of Soyuz-FG rocket at the Russian-leased Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, Thursday.

Editor, The Times:

There is something that bothers me about the Microsoft billionaire who just paid $35 million to the Russian space program to take a second ride into space ["U.S. space tourist blasts off for second space trip," Nation and World, March 26].

Where should a human being draw the line on his own self-satisfaction? Would one space trip be enough for most folks who could afford it? What obligation does one owe to humankind when one has been blessed beyond our comprehension?

Is "I earned it so I can spend it as I please" the final determinant?

There was a prophet who said, "Whatsoever you do to the least of my brethren that you do also unto me." Whatever one thinks about the divinity of the prophet, there is a thread that draws us all together.

Charles Simonyi may indeed also donate many millions to those less fortunate than himself -- I hope so. However, whimsical satisfaction of my lightest desire is not something I strive for. When there are people living in tents through no particular failure on their part, I think $35 million could pay for more than a few apartments.

Perhaps after seeing the Big Blue Marble for the second time, Simonyi will be struck by the need to protect it from further damage and help those in need who live on it.

Ferrari drivers seek consistency in F1 rules

Ferrari drivers seek consistency in F1 rules

MELBOURNE: Team Ferrari drivers Massa and Raikkonen express anger over current Formula One 'mess'

Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen have both expressed their disgust at the current 'mess' Formula One finds itself in.

speed demons! Ferrari Formula One drivers Kimi Raikkonen (left) of Finland and Brazilian Felipe Massa at a press conference in Melbourne, Australia yesterday. The first F1 race of the year is set for Sunday.

The recent row over the points system will be followed today by a protest against Brawn GP, Toyota and Williams. The remaining seven teams are unhappy with the diffuser being used by their rival trio, who interpreted the new regulation relating to the rear aerodynamic body part, in a different way.

Protest
From the protest, there is likely to be a Court of Appeal hearing that is unlikely to take place until after the Malaysian Grand Prix next weekend.

If any of the six drivers finish in the points in Melbourne this weekend, or Kuala Lumpur seven days later, there will be confusion as the results will be suspended under appeal.

Throw in Bernie Ecclestone's claim this week the teams threatened a boycott of the Australian Grand Prix in an argument over money, and before a wheel has turned on the new season, the sport finds itself hitting the headlines for all the wrong reasons.

Rule changes
Massa, speaking at a press conference in Melbourne, said: "I'm unhappy with the situation currently in Formula One.

"One week we have some news and then the next it changes. We need consistent rules, a consistent way of working, to make things a little more serious."

Echoing the sentiments of his teammate, Raikkonen added: "It's not the best thing for Formula One to start the season with all kinds of different stories. If you change the rules, then they should be changed over the winter and not a few weeks before the start of the season."

Ferrari most concerned about pace

Ferrari boss Stefano Domenicali says he is more concerned about his team's lack of speed in Australia than its poor reliability.

Both Ferraris eventually retired – Felipe Massa with a suspension problem and Kimi Raikkonen with a differential issue – but were already running down the order after their strategy of starting on super-soft tyres failed to pay off.

"For sure reliability was a big issue but I have to be fair and honest – looking at how the race evolved, reliability hasn't affected our result today, because the race was already difficult," said Domenicali.

"The results were basically decided by the lack of performance.

"We didn't have performance anywhere, at any time.

"We have to put all the things in the proper list of priorities."

Although all the teams had issues with the super-soft tyres, Domenicali pointed out that BMW's Robert Kubica fought for victory on the same strategy that Raikkonen struggled to make progress with.

"The problem is just we last four or five laps [on softs], and to be honest that was unexpected," said Domenicali.

"This is something we need to understand properly.

"Kubica was basically on the same strategy as Kimi, and for sure they didn't destroy the tyres as we destroyed them."

But Domenicali said it was too early to make a definitive judgement about Ferrari's pace compared to its rivals.

"We'll understand the situation better next weekend [in Malaysia] where we'll be at a different track with a different situation, because one important element is tyre usage, which is also connected to KERS usage," he said.

"There are a lot of things that we need to understand."

He added that the only thing that was currently clear was the scale of Brawn GP's pace advantage.

"We have seen that the Brawn cars are very, very fast, strong and consistent," said Domenicali.

"In normal circumstances without any safety cars, they would have flown away."

Chrysler agrees on framework of alliance with Fiat

Chrysler agrees on framework of alliance with Fiat

Chrysler LLC has reached an agreement on a framework of a global alliance with Italian automaker Fiat SpA that has the support of the US Treasury, Chrysler's CEO Bob Nardelli said on Monday.

"We appreciate the willingness of the (autos) Task Force, along with industry and financial experts, to consult closely with us in order to achieve this significant step," Nardelli said in a statement.

Chrysler, owned by private equity Cerberus Capital Management, was deemed by the task force to be not viable as a stand-alone company and was given 30 days to complete an alliance with Fiat or be cut off from US government funding.

If Chrysler can complete an alliance with Fiat and cost-saving arrangements with creditors and its major union, the US Treasury would consider investing up to another $6 billion.

The boards of Chrysler and Fiat have given executives approval to complete an alliance that now hinges on the terms for additional aid for Chrysler, people with knowledge of the discussions have said.


Nardelli said that Chrysler has had a series constructive discussions, including weekly face-to-face meetings with the US auto task force.

"I want to personally assure all of our customers, dealers, suppliers and employees that Chrysler will operate 'business as usual' over the next 30 days," he said.