Charlie Stross is hosting an open conversation on other things we could have bought with the money wasted in Iraq: for example, we could have sent a colony of over 500 astronauts to Mars, provided modern nuclear power to the USA and shut down its coal plants, build modern cities for 600,000,000 Chinese people to live in, and so on: "For $6Tn we could buy a lot of juice — a quarter of our global civilization's energy budget would go carbon-neutral at a stroke. (Yes, we just solved our carbon dioxide emissions problem by switching to a nuclear economy.) This probably isn't the ideal way of dealing with our environmental problems, and it's a naive treatment of the costs (has anyone done a proper treatment of the economic implications of shifting the planet over to a nuclear economy, say to the same extent as France?) but it's thought-provoking. Finally, there's all the other little stuff we could solve by pointing $513Bn at it, never mind $6000Bn. Eliminating childhood diseases in South-East Asia? Piffle — Bill and Melinda Gates are trying to do that out of their pocket lint. Build first-world grade housing in shiny new cities for 600 million Chinese peasants, nearly a tenth of the planetary population? Yes, this budget will cover that. What else? Yes, I'm asking you: what would you do with the cost of the Iraq war (take your pick: $513Bn or $6000Bn) in your budget? Colonise Mars? Solve our carbon emission problem and fix global warming? House half a billion people? Or something else ...? (And what isn't going to happen now, because we pissed it all away on the desert sands?)" + Reference +
China can go **** itself. Any money given to them wouldn't go anywhere but leadership's pockets. Mars would be good, but long term I don't see any point. it would cost a hell of a lot to keep something like that running indefinitely. Africa: see China. Solve emissions? Sure, till one of the nuke plants goes Chernobyl. How about just GIVE US BACK OUR TAXES FOR THE LAST 30 ODD YEARS OR SO YOU THIEVING ****TARDS!
Fix Africa I suppose. Seriously, 6 trillion dollars? I thought it was 2 trillion. Either way that's a ridiculous amount of money to spend on killing people. My God, when you think of all the things we could hae fixed with that! That's insane? Who the hell sanctioned that amount of money to be wasted?!
Thats so ****ing sweet I would love to live on mars! Halo 3 up in space hellz yeah im down with that for sure.
Or ensured every American had proper health care. What a novel concept that I know most of you from outside the US don't have a problem with. Mars would be sweet, though. Chicks with three boobies?! I don't have enough mouths for all that!!!!
Iraq's annual funding is 16 times greater than the entire annual budget of NASA. And it's not even a problem of confused priorities... it's the criminals doing what they will.
I think almost all drugs would be legal on mars. That would be awsome.... ... not that i have ever done drugs:squirrel_shiftyeyes
Why would they? There wouldn't be any more 'reasons' to stay and the war machine would die. It's bad business to find Osama Bin Laden.
id be scared of mars cause there's this space movie i saw when i was relatively small...i THINK Arnold Schwarzenegger was in it, but this guy gets tossed out there during a fight and his body goes inside out...... D'X. scared for life.
Seriously, even though it's waaaaaaay off topic, Preacher is a comic everyone should read. It's awesome. A preacher from a small Texas town finds out that God has literally abandoned Heaven and he enlists the help of his former hitwoman girlfriend and an alcoholic Irish vampire to find God and kick his ass. It gets way crazier from there. [/off topic]