Space boom = More booms on Space Coast

In a Saturday news story, Richard Tribou went over the current status of launches and included information from Space Florida for future launches (“SpaceX launch marks 100th mission from Space Coast in 2025”). It seems as if Space Florida is giddy about a study that predicts 1,250 launches per year within the next five decades. That would be more than three launches per day — and at least for now, those launches are typically at night.

Do any of these people live anywhere near the launch sites? The east coast of Brevard County is being sacrificed to the commercial space industry and, in the not too distant future, will be potentially unlivable. The noise, the vibration, multiple times each day, will seriously impact the quality of life in this area. It is likely that Playalinda Beach will be off limits to residents and tourists. There will be serious impact to commercial air travel that have to give way to the launches. Maybe the billionaires and those who adore them think this is all great. The Starship and heavy load program is said to add 600 jobs. Those 600 people will probably be well-paid, but only 600 jobs? How much are SpaceX, Blue Origin and all the other commercial actors contributing to local communities? Are there any philanthropic investments being made? Maybe helping with rehabilitation for the Indian River Lagoon would be an example.

Say goodbye to peaceful living. Profit is king.

S. Lee Thompson Titusville

Trump folded on Ukraine deal

Our “Art of the Deal” president really just showed the world just how great of a wheeler and dealer he is. I guess as long as it’s someone else’s land and liberty he doesn’t care how much he gives away (“Trump plan to end Ukraine war would cede territory to Russia,” Nov. 21).

Basically this proposal would seem to give Putin everything he wants and gives almost nothing in return. Russia would get the entire Donbas region which is considered the industrial heartland of Ukraine, and more land than it already occupies in that area.

The 28 point “peace” plan as originally propsed was said to also include a cap on the size of Ukraine’s army and forbid Ukraine from ever joining NATO. Power generated from one of their nuclear plants would be split 50/50 with Russia. Talk about a huge slap in the face! The “peace” plan would also lift sanctions and reintegrate Russia into the global economy. One thing Russia has agreed to is not to invade any neighboring countries, a promise it has made and broken in the past.

Way to wheel and deal, Mr. President.

Michael Good Orlando

Witkoff’s capitulation blueprint

The controversial U.S. peace plan to end the Ukraine war was, predictably, met with disdain in Kyiv and across major European capitals. President Donald Trump’s hand-picked Special Envoy for Peace Missions, Steve Witkoff, a billionaire real-estate developer with virtually no expertise in foreign affairs, is the principal architect behind what some experts are calling a capitulation blueprint. Witkoff, claiming that Vladimir Putin is not a “bad guy,” crafted a proposal which heavily favors Russia.

The plan, with its widespread demands for major concessions by Ukraine, is reminiscent of the Munich Agreement in 1938 which allowed Germany to annex a German-speaking region of Czechoslovakia. We all know how that instrument of appeasement, led by British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, worked out — the aggressor, Hitler’s Germany, was emboldened, and nine months later Czech sovereignty was completely destroyed.

Jim Paladino Tampa

Explaining away a crime

Every sin or crime begins with a lie: “That guy deserves it!”

Then you rob him of his wallet or his dignity or his life.

Then we live in a world where “things happen.”

Samuel McIlrath St. Augustine

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