[extropy-chat] Maximising Human Potential : Education : Toys

Adrian Tymes wingcat at pacbell.net
Mon May 24 22:58:21 UTC 2004


--- Damien Broderick <thespike at satx.rr.com> wrote:
> At 01:49 PM 5/24/2004 -0700, Adrian Tymes wrote
> about the current 
> unpleasantness:
> >So how about, "We
> >don't have the resources to build your pipes - we
> keep
> >getting shot at - but here's how to build it
> yourself,
> >and rebuild it if someone blows it up."  Once armed
> >with the right information, most villages could and
> >probably would spare a few mens' honest days labor
> so
> >that everyone had clean drinking water.
> 
> Adrian--what?! You think the Iraqis are palaeolithic
> dopes or something?

Dopes, no.  Not possessed of as many trained
technicians who know how to fix up their cities using
the materials they can obtain, yes.  This would aim to
fix that specific problem.

> And ya gotta love that "if someone blows it up." I
> wonder who that someone 
> could be?

Deliberately not stated, 'cause it doesn't matter in
this context.  Blown up is blown up, and it needs
fixing.

> >  It's the
> >same principle behind why there's such a fuss today
> >about Iraqis policing themselves.
> 
> Ahem. For a different opinion, perhaps consult Bob
> Herbert's view:
> 
>
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/24/opinion/24HERB.html?th

I don't see how this addresses the issue of Iraqis
policing themselves, except in indirect senses (like
how leaving them with a functioning government would
be one of the preconditions for pulling out).



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