You are confusing "ascension" with "right ascension". Just plain "ascension" (not capitalized) is pretty much a synonym for "ascent".

A few dictionaries define "ascension" as an astronomical term referring to the rising of the star above the horizon -- in other words the increasing of altitude in the alt/azimuth coordinate system -- but this definition doesn't appear in lists of astronomical terms so either this usage is uncommon or obsolete.

Oh, well you have a feeling. I guess the scientists can pack up and move on to some other topic then.

First of all, Sir Tim is British, and second of all the First Amendment refers to government regulation of speech. It does not compel a private organization to employ or associate with an individual whose speech it feels reflects poorly on them.

This is not a legal issue, it's a moral issue. It's morally wrong to empower a social media lynch mob without performing a reasonable inquiry into the facts.

I don't claim to know anything beyond what I've read in the news, which of course doesn't qualify me as an expert. But I'm fairly confident the fact that you find the accommodations made to Hawaiian religious beliefs annoying has no bearing on whether those beliefs are sincere.

I agree that there's no way to satisfy some of these people. That doesn't make them liars or bad, it just means their interests in this situation cannot be reconciled with yours. It happens sometimes. As much as I believe in looking for win-win solutions, there are occasionally situations where one side or the other has to lose.

And you won't ever get everyone on the other side to agree because that never happens. There are even Catholics who think the Pope isn't as Catholic as they are. So as soon as there were any questions raised about the religious dimension of this project it became inevitable that if they ever built this thing it would be in the face of protests. And as long as the project's leaders think what they're doing is right they should do it and take their PR lumps on the chin. But imputing, without any evidence, false and hypocritical motivations to the protesters actually undoes the work done to make this project possible. That actually *is* disrespecting native religious beliefs.

There is nobody for whom the summit of Mauna Kea is their "backyard", so this isn't NIMBY. There are sincere religious and political reasons for opposing this.

Imagine yourself in their position. If a conspicuous structure on the summit of Mauna Kea offended your religious sensibilities when the first one went up, then you're not going to feel less strongly about the thirteenth or fourteenth to go up. Likewise spreading the development to a second, pristine sacred site wouldn't placate you.

The position that nobody's religious views should ever matter is one most people wouldn't agree with, but at least it's a principled position. Claiming (without proof) that views that stand in the way of something you want are insincere and should be disregarded strikes me as dishonest.

Talking to the French about their rioting is like talking to Americans about their guns. They'll assume you're out to undermine their national origin myths.

Again, you can choose to live in the real world, or you can choose not to, and be played by everyone else. Wars and other conflicts happen, it's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when. Being on the wrong side of the intelligence equation means you're going to be the fly, and not the fly swatter.

Right, let's teach Utopia instead of reality.

If you're impatient enough that you won't wait two weeks for an offer letter, I've got a long line of qualified applicants that will. At the end of an interview, we always tell the person what to expect. We're required to interview a minimum of three applicants for every requisition this is due to compliance regulations. After the interview, the selected candidate has to be approved through multiple layers...HR, legal, compensation, and normally a couple layers of engineering management. That typically takes 1-2 weeks, and is common for a Fortune 500 company.

Then you're fortunate not to be working for a large company. The hoops we have to jump through include approvals from a couple levels up, along with HR, Legal, Compensation, etc. That normally takes a minimum of 5 days after the interview.

Unfilled vacancies translates to lost sales. As a hiring manager, we get pounded by upper management to fill slots as quickly as possible, and end up wasting time reexplaining the process to them every year or so, even though our numbers have been consistent, and lower than industry averages.

Because his hand cheats on him.

Seriously? And you'd know this how? I only ask be cause I once thought my ex-wife was clean.

Yeah, they went out the window a couple thousand years ago. But please continue believing that your imaginary society ever existed.

Please name a non-third world country that doesn't spy on allies.