[TheForge] Meteoric iron - wrap it in foil

[Ries Niemi]

On Saturday, June 12, 2004, at 02:46 PM, Darrell wrote:

> Steve,
> I just used an extreme to carry out the view that making a profit is 
> the
> only criteria for making a sale.
> One of the items that I sell is a computer control for a milling 
> machine. I
> have refused to sell that control package to any of the mid-east 
> companies
> because terrorist parts could be made with that machine and I have no 
> way of
> knowing who would and who wouldn't.
> Darrell
>
>

I think you are being a little restrictive in your thinking-
In addition to mid-east companies, you should make sure you dont sell 
any parts to:

White american veterans (they could blow up federal buildings)
Irish catholic guys (they might shoot mortars at government buildings)
Germans (Red Brigades, you know)
Italians (they have blown up buildings, kidnapped government ministers)
White upper class American newspaper heiresses who go to expensive 
colleges (they have been known to rob banks with automatic weapons)
Japanese men or women,  particularly if they are into any of those 
eastern religions (They leave nasty surprises in subway stations)
Members of the US military (they might go off on their own and sell 
your parts to the Iranians, or give them to central american dictators, 
or use them torture people)
Anybody from Central Europe, or Asia, or South America, or North 
America, or Europe, for that matter.

In fact, if you want to be absolutely sure nothing is used by 
terrorists, I think you gotta stick with the Antarctic market for now.

I remember in the 70's there was a big controversy in the art world 
because the Shah of Iran, who was our ally at the time, was putting on 
a big sculpture show, and he was offering American artists hundreds of 
thousands of dollars to participate. Some people went, others wouldnt 
go, because his secret police was torturing ayatollahs. The whole thing 
became moot, because before the show could happen, a few of those 
ayatollahs kicked him out.

But I think you gotta give Phlip, and everyone else, the benefit of the 
doubt that they have their own sense of morality, and that they are the 
only ones who can decide what that is. It is true that many Americans 
will do anything for money- look at reality TV. But I have never gotten 
the impression that your average blacksmith is gonna be tempted to 
compromise all their principles to build weapons for mass murderers.
And I always figured the Saint thing had to do with SCA style naming, 
and not that Phlip actually considered herself a Saint.

ries