[Gnu-arch-users] [ot] one last thing, before i go

[Thomas Lord]

                  "if i were the king of the world,
                      i'll tell you what i'd do"
                           -- three dog night


                   "We can do it!"  
                       U.S. motivational poster
                        from WWII

                   "Let's have a conversation about
                    something other than ourselves"
                        me



Ok, here is a resolution, in the literary form of an "order":


1. Attention nation states

   *Crash programs* are needed, above all other priorities in a variety
   of areas.  Drop everything else, help each other otherwise muddle
   through, and work on the following assignments.

   NOTE: these are managerial assignments.  In most cases, other
   nation states will have to help with each task but they should
   treat the assigned nations as managers of the project.

   NOTE: all activity should be overtly public and transparent.


1a. U.S., China, Japan

    Your task is to nail "green engineering and manufacturing".  Produce
    a range of consumer and industrial projects, covering the broadest
    possible spectrum of the world's needs and desires.  You're 3/4 of
    the way there already.  Keep up the good work and accelerate the
    hell out of it.

1b. Everyone

    Cooperate fully on getting humans into space, onto other planets,
    and into other solar systems.  Do not, under any circumstances,
    spew any more earth microbes onto other planets and moons until it
    is positively affirmed that life does not exist there already
    (even microbial).  Stop dumping garbage into earth orbit where it
    endangers the lives of of humans up there.  Save Hubble and
    improve on it.   There is no race (among humans (c.f. fermi
    paradox)).

1c. India, Pakistan, Russia, Persia (:-), England

    Your job is to referee, armed only with a platform from which to
    issue good advice, green economic development and socially just
    trade.  You must focus on a leveling wherein traditionally
    oppressed populations gain the chance to mix with the rest of us
    and thrive and the rest of us sacrifice (ideally nothing but
    possibly) to the point of mild discomfort to give them every
    chance possible.


1d. Germany, France, Norway, Egypt, Syria, Saudi Arabia

    Your job is to civilize the suffering parts of Africa,
    save lives, refute racism, save wildlife, integrate,
    and generally honor the (by current hypotheses) motherland.


1e. Iraq, Israel, Netherlands, Canada, Palestine

    Your job is to develop the optimal strategy for energy globally,
    an in each geographic region.   Speed is of the essence; thank
    you.  Nuclear power is probably critical, imo.


1f. U.S., Mexico, South America, China

    You have the unfortunate task (thanks Osama) of manufacturing
    "faster, cheaper, better" arms for the U.S.  The penalty for
    selling on the black market is swift and sure death.  Avoid
    weapons that cause lasting environmental harm.  Take comfort in
    the fact that the better the other projects go, the less important
    this project is.  Above all else, do not create (and cancel)
    dependencies of your economies of this activity --- nevertheless,
    achieve definitive success.  Sorry.

1g. Nations feeling left out

    Suck it up and volunteer for one of the above or propose a
    new, equally good task.


2. Attention all Muslims, Native Americans, and board members of major
   corporations

   Your job is to define what constitutes economically just
   development.  How can we overcome the problem of "angry,
   disenfranchised youth"?  You must enter the intellectual community
   of the nation-state projects as an arbiter of what is fair.  *You*
   must acknowledge (as most of you already do, of course) that
   secularism matters and become the leaders in its philosophy.


3. DPRK, Berkeley, Oxford, Russia, Australia

   Your job is to inventory the world's supply of domino-ready
   nuclear weapons and identify the right strategy of "slow,
   incremental, simultaneous reductions" to cool the situation.


4. Iran, Harvard

   Your job is to find and advertise the optimal cooperative
   strategy for water management, considering equally both 
   "human needs" and "ecological health, diversity, and 
   stability".  People say that "water is the new oil"
   and "Iran is the new Saudi Arabia" so obviously this
   falls to you.    Your first task, which is mandatory,
   is to choose three non-Muslim states to act as partners
   in this (I won't presume to -- y'all seem pretty stressed
   out).   (P.S.: please stop hanging fags.)


5. France, San Francisco, Pittsburgh

   Promote a global vision of the culinary arts.
   Also: Please send more cheese and wine, thank you.
   (Of course, also jump in and help with all of the 
   above, too.   USian rumours of your cowardice are,
   of course, utterly sarcastic.)


6.  Individuals Everywhere

   Relax.  Take a deep breath.  Meet your neighbors.
   We can do it.


Overall, as the old man once said:


   "The original title of this book was *The Johnson
    Family*.   `The Johnson Family' was a turn-of-the-cen-
    tury expression to designate good bums and thieves.  It
    was elaborated into a code of conduct.  A Johnson honors
    his obligations.  His word is good and he is a good
    man to do business with.  A Johnson minds his own 
    business.  He is not a snoopy, self-righteous, trouble-
    making person.   A Johnson will give help when help is
    needed.  He will not stand by while someone is drown-
    ing or trapped under a burning car.

    The only thing that could unit the planet is a
    united space program ... the earth becomes a space
    station and war is simply *out*, irrelevant, flatly insane
    in a context of research centers, spaceports, and the 
    exhilaration of working with people you like and res-
    pect toward an agreed-upon objective, an objective 
    from which all workers will gain.  *Happiness is a by-
    product of function*.  The planetary space station will
    give all participants an opportunity to function."



                             ------------

              Que sera sera - whatever will be, will be
                     the future's not ours to see
                            que sera sera



Oh well.