[ExI] Right course of action

[Mike Dougherty]

On Sat, Oct 6, 2012 at 4:14 PM, Mirco Romanato <painlord2k at libero.it> wrote:
> Il 06/10/2012 20:25, Mike Dougherty ha scritto:
>> On Sat, Oct 6, 2012 at 10:32 AM, John Clark <johnkclark at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> tongue lashing to Afghanistan after 911 have been OK, or would that still
>>> be
>>> too mean by causing needless emotional trauma to the poor leaders of the
>>> Taliban and Al-Qaeda?
>
>> You keep rope in the trunk of your car just in case you find yourself
>> at a lynch mob in need of direction, don't you?
>
>> That's not a judgement, it's just a hypothesis.
>
> My hypothesis is you have nothing to replying and are just looking for
> avoiding to do so.
>
> Could you, in you illuminated enlightenment, suggest the right course of
> action after the 9/11 for the US and the rest of the Western World.

To clarify:  I was taking an "all in good fun" jab at John because I
imagine he can take my kind of humor.  I would hope that such would
not offend witnessing third parties such as yourself among all the
"riotous" postings.  I try to view this list and the discussions on it
to be the smart-people equivalent of pub talk; you know: drink in
hand, sitting around BS-ing.

on that note, I answer your serious question with a humble "no sir, I
can not."  Anyone that claims to know the "Right course of action" is
either trying to sell you a product or is a politician.

In general I feel that any single action on any complex system is
likely to have minor impact over a long term because the status quo is
a point of equilibrium maintained by powerful interests cooperating
with inertia to keep things as they are.  If you were at the top of a
pyramid, would you risk your influential position making radical
changes to the structure?

Also curious, when you play chess do you/have you ever sacrificed a
relatively powerful piece for a stronger board position?  Do you play
one (or two) moves ahead or do you play towards a particular endgame?
How do you choose a strategy based on your opponent's opening move?  I
think this answer would illuminate (as you say) a response to the 9/11
opening.