Nice goals, Owen. A bit short on details about how to implement, and as far as I could tell, did not address methods for stemming/thwarting the economic drivers that make war so attractive to those large military industrial societal components. Nor was their any guidance on how to direct that inward-looking dim majority which comprises the majority of our race towards the version of a higher level of Nirvana which you describe.
But nice goals. --Doug On Sun, Feb 14, 2010 at 1:47 PM, Owen Densmore <[email protected]> wrote: > OK, smart folks, then what *is* the sensible way to go? I have my platform > ready: > > Stop the wars, convert them into game-theoretic diplomacy such as pointing > out how important Afghanistan is to Europe, India and China, and how > important Iraq is to its wealthy arab neighbors and Europe. Stop the > Palestine/Israel wars by not supporting either side. Cut off all aid and > arms to either. > > Terrorism: ignore it. If we do well at removing ourselves from the wars > and interventions into other country's problems, we're likely to reduce > threats. Remove the current overly strict airline security. But do be > serious about responding to true attacks like Afghanistan, just remove the > threat, and leave. Create the message: Don't mess with us and we'll get out > of your life. > > With the money thus saved, hack away at the deficit while providing a > minimal step toward health care: > 1) Require universal health care insurance. > 2) Remove preconditions. > 3) Subsidize those who cannot afford the base rate. > 4) limit malpractice litigation. > (Deficit reduction seems to have been important in past innovation > resurgence, and is just sane. I doubt much of our debt is helping the poor, > homeless and unemployed .. it likely is just paying fat cats.) > > In terms of military, bring back the draft and broaden military duty to > include civic programs .. a peace corps approach. Seriously take care of > the vets, they are ignored as soon as they return. Make sure the medical > plans are available, along with an improved GI bill for education. > > While we're at it, stop the other war, that on drugs. Legalize drugs, > under state control, and tax the hell out of them. Empty the prisons of > convicted drug users. Use the tax to pay for the initial health plan. > > Fiber to the home, immediately. Provide distance-learning public education > made up of freely available courseware such as MITs and Britain's Open > University. (Steve and I are amazed how good UNM's VOD system, for example, > as we take CS500 from Cris Moore.) > > On the energy front: nuclear. Based on really modern thorium reactor > technology, or similar. Don't give up on "green" but deploy in small > distributed plants, not huge mountain eating wind farms. UK is already > doing this for new industrial plants: they have to be 20% self sustaining. > > Finally, build the most amazing public transportation system ever dreamed > of, similar to Kennedy's moon shot. > > Basically build a world we can be proud of. And stop whining. > > -- Owen > > > On Feb 14, 2010, at 12:18 PM, Douglas Roberts wrote: > > Stupid of me to misread the table like that. > > ;-} > > On Sun, Feb 14, 2010 at 12:11 PM, Russ Abbott <[email protected]>wrote: > >> The table on the Wikipedia >> page<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IQ_and_the_Wealth_of_Nations#National_IQ_estimates>says >> we're at 98, not 93. It's apparently taken from >> here <http://www.rlynn.co.uk/pages/article_intelligence/t4.asp>, which >> seems to have more entries. >> >> >> -- Russ Abbott >> _____________________________________________ >> Professor, Computer Science >> California State University, Los Angeles >> Cell phone: 310-621-3805 >> o Check out my blog at http://russabbott.blogspot.com/ >> >> >> >> On Sun, Feb 14, 2010 at 10:42 AM, Douglas Roberts >> <[email protected]>wrote: >> >>> There are times when I do feel the need to turn to my Psittaciformes for >>> some genuinely deep, intelligent, considered discourse. I'm sure that will >>> come as no great surprise to you, Nick. >>> >>> I'd like to bludgeon home one more bit of fact that IMO supports and >>> justifies my low opinion of the aggregate level if intelligence in this >>> country: fully 47% of our fine US population voted for a presidential >>> ticket that had Sarah Palin down for Vice President. >>> >>> I'd also like to throw out another troubling observation: Whenever the >>> intellectual elite launch yet another discourse on one troubled aspect of >>> our country or another -- health care, economic reform, the educational >>> system, the political system -- they always go all academic on us. We get >>> deep, thoughty intricate, theoretical symposia which never touch on the core >>> issue. >>> >>> What is the core issue? The fact that the average IQ in the United >>> states is just a notch above 90. 93, according to this >>> reference,<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IQ_and_the_Wealth_of_Nations>and >>> I've seen others that support it. What I have not seen is what the >>> distribution of IQs for the US is, so I don't know how fat the left hand >>> side tails are, but I suspect the worse. >>> >>> Now, I suspect that the bulk of the FRIAM readership is, or at least >>> consider themselves to be several points above the US standard. So given >>> that, why have we never seen a discussion oriented around how to lead a >>> nation of dullards into a better social structure? >>> >>> I would argue, should such a discussion ever get beyond the topic of >>> political correctness, that we have arrived at exactly the optimal solution. >>> From the perspective of the power elite, of course. The rich, powerful >>> corporations like Bechtel, BWXT, the Washington Group, Grumman, Lockheed to >>> name but a few of the military industrial ones. United Health Care, Blue >>> Cross, Cygna, etc. from the health care sector. Likewise, the view as seen >>> by the politicians whom those very same corporate entities have purchased is >>> clearly pretty rosy. >>> >>> From where these guys sit, it's the perfect way to run a country. The >>> academics can blather all they want about theoretical optimizing solutions >>> to whatever they claim are the pressing societal problems, because meanwhile >>> the bulk of the populace are enchanted with Sarah Palin, the Party of No!, >>> Rush, Pat Robertson, and their ilk, and the status remains Quo. Plus or >>> minus a few nuances, George Orwell got it right. >>> >>> Then, there's the issue of cultural stupidity, which may or may not be >>> related to IQ. These are the ones that Pamela refers to as unable to think >>> their way past slogans they've been taught. This is a rich field for >>> research, publications, speaking engagements, but one which most academics >>> seem blissfully unaware. >>> >>> --Doug >>> >>> On Sun, Feb 14, 2010 at 10:44 AM, Nicholas Thompson < >>> [email protected]> wrote: >>> >>>> Doug, >>>> >>>> Parroting doug ===>We truly are a nation of idiots. We deserve Rush >>>> Limbaugh, Sarah Palin, and Pat Robertson <=== end parroting Doug >>>> >>>> I don't think one has to be stupid to engage in Dialogues of the Deaf. >>>> We do that sort of thing quite well in FRIAM, from time to time, and we >>>> are, >>>> ex hypothesi, VERY smart. >>>> >>>> Somewhere along the way, We lost our faith that there is a Truth Of The >>>> Matter. In the fifties, you had to believe that you were right, when you >>>> said something. Nowadays, you just have to believe you are plausible. (I >>>> blame the post-modernists myself ... but now this message is becoming an >>>> example of itself.) >>>> >>>> That having been said, are the Tea-Totallers any worse than the people >>>> who put McCarthy into office in the 50's? >>>> >>>> Nick >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> Nicholas S. Thompson >>>> Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Ethology, >>>> Clark University ([email protected]) >>>> http://home.earthlink.net/~nickthompson/naturaldesigns/<http://home.earthlink.net/%7Enickthompson/naturaldesigns/> >>>> http://www.cusf.org [City University of Santa Fe] >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> ----- Original Message ----- >>>> *From:* Douglas Roberts <[email protected]> >>>> *To: *The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group<[email protected]> >>>> *Sent:* 2/14/2010 9:05:07 AM >>>> *Subject:* Re: [FRIAM] Sources of Innovation >>>> >>>> Pamela, >>>> >>>> I think the healthcare issue goes way beyond just the usual corporate >>>> profit protection, pay for play political game. Look at how polarized the >>>> nation has become over just this issue alone. Look at how many people >>>> *don't* believe that the healthcare issue is really about healthcare >>>> insurance industry profit protection. >>>> >>>> We truly are a nation of idiots. We deserve Rush Limbaugh, Sarah Palin, >>>> and Pat Robertson. >>>> >>>> Model that, if you like. The agents in the individual based simulation >>>> won't need much sophistication. >>>> >>>> --Doug >>>> >>>> On Sun, Feb 14, 2010 at 8:00 AM, Pamela McCorduck <[email protected]>wrote: >>>> >>>>> When Kennedy envisioned going to the moon, no lobby existed to fight >>>>> ferociously for the sole right to take the profits from going to the moon, >>>>> and the sole right to decide who gets to go. >>>>> >>>>> If you read the not-very-deep subtext in this fight, you will see that >>>>> it's not about giving better healthcare to Americans (which we desperately >>>>> need) but about protecting the enormous profits of the healthcare >>>>> insurance >>>>> industry. It's dressed up in "right to choose," and "privacy between >>>>> doctor >>>>> and patient," and "keep the government out of medical care," but it's >>>>> really >>>>> about profit protection. From several different and reliable sources (one >>>>> of >>>>> them a congressional candidate) I have heard that since early last summer, >>>>> the insurance and pharmaceuticals industries have been spending over $1 >>>>> million per day on lobbying. It continues. You can do the arithmetic. >>>>> >>>>> The media regularly reports on how much better, cheaper, and more >>>>> effective medical plans are all around the developed world. It doesn't >>>>> penetrate $1 million-plus per day. >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> On Feb 13, 2010, at 3:55 PM, Jochen Fromm wrote: >>>>> >>>>> Where does all this whining about health care >>>>>> come from? Everyone in Germany has a health >>>>>> insurance, it is obligatory. There is general >>>>>> agreement here that the European (and esp. >>>>>> the German) health care system is better >>>>>> and more social than the one in the US. >>>>>> The USA obviously needs a better health care >>>>>> system. Where is the American optimism and >>>>>> the "i believe we can do it" spirit? I've heard >>>>>> that optimism and positive thinking is a typical >>>>>> American attitude. >>>>>> >>>>>> America is lacking a vision, something like >>>>>> Kennedy's vision to bring a man to the moon >>>>>> and back. Military and NASA won't do it >>>>>> this time. A vision or a common dream which >>>>>> would foster technological innovation. Schmidt >>>>>> mentioned "renewable energy" and green >>>>>> technology. What about a clean L.A. with >>>>>> fresh air? A large scale scientific initiative >>>>>> to create the first AI would be another one. >>>>>> America would have the resources to do it, it >>>>>> has the companies with the largest data centers. >>>>>> It should be proud of Google, Microsoft, >>>>>> Amazon, and Apple. It is difficult to understand >>>>>> why it disputes about health care so long. >>>>>> >>>>>> -J. >>>>>> >>>>>> ----- Original Message ----- From: Roger Critchlow >>>>>> To: The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group >>>>>> Sent: Saturday, February 13, 2010 6:54 PM >>>>>> Subject: Re: [FRIAM] Sources of Innovation >>>>>> >>>>>> [...] We're too busy defending ourselves from hedge fund vampires and >>>>>> health care ghouls to worry about growth. Say what you will about the >>>>>> undead, they steal their profits fair and square and invest them in the >>>>>> rule >>>>>> of law. >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>> >>>
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