<HTML><BODY style="word-wrap: break-word; -khtml-nbsp-mode: space; -khtml-line-break: after-white-space; "><BR><DIV><DIV>On Jul 11, 2005, at 7:43 PM, Brett Paatsch wrote:</DIV><BR class="Apple-interchange-newline"><BLOCKQUOTE type="cite"> <DIV><FONT face="Arial" size="2">I've only had time to dip into some ongoing threads but I notice that both Robert Lindauer and Dan Clemmensen have</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Arial" size="2">stated that they think that "we", meaning the US, or the Bush administration, (I'm not part of any of those "we") deliberately lied or misrepresented the reasons for invading Iraq. </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Arial" size="2"></FONT><FONT face="Arial" size="2"></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Arial" size="2">Whilst I do tend to that view, I am not utterly convinced of it yet. And yet it is an important fact, or otherwise, to establish or not surely? <BR></FONT></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV>What else would it take to convince you? </DIV><DIV><BR><BLOCKQUOTE type="cite"><DIV><FONT face="Arial" size="2">One thing that I suspect most extropian or transhumanist list posters might agree on, is that the Iraq and terrorism business has grabbed a big chunk of the worlds attention. Attention that might have been directed far more profitably (to the net human good) elsewhere. </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Arial" size="2"></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Arial" size="2">I wonder on what basis those that are convinced of it, are</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Arial" size="2">so convinced? Please, give only opinions based on hard facts.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Arial" size="2"></FONT> </DIV></BLOCKQUOTE><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>Sputter. If you are not awake enough to be convinced already then I haven't the time or patience to spoon feed your apparently timid mind. I would rather spend my energies preparing for and creating the future we all claim to be interested in. </DIV></DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>- s</DIV></BODY></HTML>