Hi Penny

I am just responding to the comments about the whole defense thing. I live in Ireland and we've had terrorists/freedom fighters here for a long time. Although thank God peace is growing steadily. Terrorism does represent evil and their actions are wrong. Who can justify indiscriminate bombing, murder and mayhem? But I believe terrorism comes from people who feel that they have no other way to make their voices heard. Perhaps they have tried (as they see it) the democratic route and they were simply shot down. Also if we respond to terrorism with injustice and torture how are we any better? Evil can only ultimately be defeated by good. Of course we must defend ourselves but ultimately the war on terrorism will be won by eliminating the root causes..poverty, inequality, racism, injustice. Not by creating faster better killing devices.

Anne

Erik, what a fantastic idea! That's the type of brainstorming I love to see - getting inspiration from your surroundings! Yes, that would definitely be a money-maker. Plus, you would be making the environment better, so you (and a lot of other people) could sleep better at night (and maybe live a little longer? <smile>)

The question is what type of problems plague these buildings? Chemical? Foundational? The thing I love most about brainstorming is that sometimes you find a large problem that may have a very, very simple solution. Maybe you can find or research a chemical that can remove toxicity from older chemicals used in construction. Maybe there is a type of ultra-violet light that can make something safe again. Maybe planting certain plants within the buildings could re-process the air that the chemicals are polluting. Of course, I have no idea what these things could be, but your idea is fantastic. Now, we just need to see if another brainstormer out there has a solution!

And yes, Erik, there IS an mp3 player for you - the fifth and last one for this month. I'll call and get your address for shipping!

Penny

P.S. I'm thinking about offering one MP3 player every month. The winner will be drawn from anyone who leaves a brainstorm or response to the contents of Brain Storm that month. What do you think about that?

Dear Penny,

I just listened to your show, great show. I wanted to send you an idea or "brain storm" concerning environmental services. I work in Seattle, Washington and like many large city you have buildings that are 35+ years old that were build on the "fast track" and are not in the best shape. If a company could come up with away to turn all these buildings into green building. I know in washington they could make a lot of money. Feel free to use this for your next show. And if you have an extra mp3 player I would greatly appreciate it. I look forward to your next show, I have subscribed to you show.

Best regards,

Erik Davenny

Anne, no you're not the only one, I'm sure. I think that people are just split between hating the death and destruction of war and fearing terrorism's death and destruction on their own soil. I may be wrong, but it always seems to be the lesser of the two evils. Fight them there, or fight them here.

Economists have always showed that war does boost economy, and businesses take advantage of that fact. Whether for aggressive or defensive purposes, military will always be a necessity in our world, as it has been throughout history. Those entrepreneurs whose beliefs lead them to believe that they are benefitting a good cause by providing better intelligence tools and physical protection from enemies can, from a healthy conscious, pursue those interests and benefit economically.

On the other hand, I believe that entrepreneurs who believe that non-military action is the answer would benefit by researching and developing technological and alternative solutions that would render military force obsolete. I'm not actually sure what this would be, or how this would look, since I believe that war starts in the hearts of men, and that those predispositioned to ignore or violate the rights of others will continue to feel and act that way unless they have a complete change of heart/mind/spirit. I don't know if technology can do that - unless we find a way to brainwash everyone to respect other people's rights and boundaries, and to treat everyone else as they would be treated themselves.

Anne, do you have any ideas about possible solutions? Sometimes I daydream about taking people who violate other people's rights and placing them all in one location, where they can do whatever they like to other people who are just like them (sort of like the movie Escape from New York...) Only people who respect other people's rights could live out in society. That's kind of like jail, only we don't pay for their lodging and meals and health. I mean have an entire colony or state or planet for these people where they have to work and support themselves, and live in their own society and have their own government and can do whatever they want, as long as they stay there. Put an impenetrable bubble over it or something...(smile)

But you and I both know that will never work, because those types of people only want what they can't have, and they would all work to get back out of the bubble so they can take advantage of other people, or just plain take them over. Just my two cents.

Penny

BTW...You are the winner of the 4th MP3 Player, Anne. Please forward me your address via the QMTP message center on the top right of the page, or via email.

Am I the only person who finds it really depressing that Defence contractors are really big winners...that we are becoming a world driven by fear, that we are applying our amazing human ingenuity to more creative ways to kill and maim each other.