Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!bonnie.concordia.ca!ccu.umanitoba.ca!herald.usask.ca!alberta!brazeau.ucs.ualberta.ca!unixg.ubc.ca!ubc-cs!uw-beaver!rice!hsdndev!think.com!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!pikes!aspen.craycos.com!jrbd From: jrbd@craycos.com (James Davies) Newsgroups: comp.org.eff.talk Subject: Re: CPSR vs. EFF Message-ID: <1991Jun28.202810.1594@craycos.com> Date: 28 Jun 91 20:28:10 GMT References: <1991Jun26.184003.22787@spool.cs.wisc.edu> <1991Jun27.051845.30495@wpi.WPI.EDU> <1991Jun28.142859.20500@spool.cs.wisc.edu> Organization: Cray Computer Corporation Lines: 22 In article <1991Jun28.142859.20500@spool.cs.wisc.edu> samuel@shemp.cs.wisc.edu (Samuel Bates) writes: > > The point is that these deaths, due in large part to computer > technology, benefitted nobody. Again, other applications of the > technology _can_ benefit people both in this country and in the Middle > East. > {...} > The key word here is "help"; the CPSR are not saying that they can > solve these problems by themselves. They _are_ saying that computer > technology and expertise have not generally been directed at these > problems, and that it has the potential to _help_ find a solution. "not generally directed"? Do you really believe that the majority of computer technology is being used by the military these days? I interpreted the CPSR ad as strictly a political statement, on a topic which has no relevance to computers. After all, do you really think that this war was caused by technology? I thought it was caused by Iraq's invasion of Kuwait... What would you think if a steel industry group (SPSR?) took out an ad decrying the use of steel in the gulf war? Would you think that it wasn't political?