[extropy-chat] War and technological progress

[Samantha Atkins]

BillK wrote:
> On 5/1/07, Thomas wrote:
> <snip>
>   
>> Not completely off-topic since many of Bush's efforts have worked
>> against the extropian, especially funding war at the expense of medical
>> and technological progress.
>>
>>     
>
>
> Not true!
> I have supported the proposition before that war funding vastly
> increases technological and medical developments. Look at all the
> stuff DARPA is funding.
>   

Show me what we got out of Iraq.  It looks to me like we just pour 
nearly a trillion dollars into sand and blood with squat to show for 
it.  The glory days of DARPA are behind it.  What do you have in mind 
that is so hot as to justify all the ill of this so-called war?
> WWII certainly generated a great leap forward in technology and medicine.
> (The downside, of course, is that war tends to kill a lot of people).
>
> Agreed that Bush has opposed funding some stem cell research, but that
> was on religious grounds, nothing to do with the war funding.
>   
The money for this contretemps had to come from somewhere.  Where?  What 
could it have bought for us instead? 

- samantha