Originally Posted by The Bunglerat
show that the "tall poppy" syndrome is alive and well in Oz.
Actually, until the advent of Big Brother, I felt Australians smelt bullshi$$ better than most. The Virgin publicity machine, uses whatever means it can to get free advertising- whether that be continuos whining in the press, outlandish claims or the lunatic behaviour of Branson himself. Often the Virgin publicity wagon gets way ahead of itself- the Virgin Blue Staff Retreat Island for example.
A 27 month secondment seems a bit of a skinny time period to qualify as an astronaut, achieve operational status and be a useful member of a mission control team. Where is the return on investment? This is where a reality TV style publicity programme will kick in courtesy of the Virgin Group.
If you think a baseball cap, tan pants with plumbers crack makes the profession look bad, wait until you see the astronaut Laurel & Hardys, nepotism and the
VB publicity machine put together.
Could be wrong though. Could be best man for the job. How many
VB pilots have traditional astronaut candidate backgrounds?