X-Message-Number: 23442
Date: Mon, 16 Feb 2004 07:47:38 -0800
From: Natasha Vita-More <>
Subject: VP Summit - Release

AUSTIN, TEXAS - FEB 17, 2004

Online Summit Challenges President Bush's Bioethics Council

Extropy Institute invites top scientific, technological, and cultural 
thinkers to share knowledge and exchange ideas about working to improve the 
world s understanding of biotechnology and science to improve and extend 
life.  Beginning Sunday, February 15 through 29th, the Summit presents a 
2-week virtual discussion and debate on President Bush's Bioethics 
Council's ultraconservative report Beyond Therapy.  Summit keynotes are 
addressing the use of the well-known "Precautionary Principle" by 
anti-biotech activists as a rallying tool to turn people against the 
science, medicine and biotechnology that could cure disease and improve life.

President of Extropy Institute and Chair of the VP Summit, Natasha 
Vita-More says, "We have a responsibility to protect ourselves, our 
children and our loved ones in determining what choices to make about the 
future of our health.  No one has the right to tell us that must go into 
the later years of life in crippled or feeble states.  No organization, no 
policy, no person should have the absolute power and authority to hinder 
scientific and medical advances that can and do help millions of people 
throughout the world."

Vital Progress Summit to Protect Human Rights for Our Future.
Negative reaction to the possibility of fundamental progress in these 
fields threatens to stifle innovations that can make major improvements in 
the quality of life of people throughout the world. Extropy Institute has 
made a name for itself as an intellectual networking and educational 
organization, encouraging cultural foresight about profound 
technology-driven change. It encourages critical thinking about ideas and 
technologies that will help people, our society, and the world.

The Vital Progress Summit is being held on the Internet at 
http://summit.extropy.org from Feb.15-29.  Register at 
http://summit.extropy.org/?q=register. For more information on the Summit 
please contact  or call 512.263.2749. The VP Summit is 
chaired by Natasha Vita-More, President of Extropy Institute.

SUMMIT KEYNOTES.
  Ronald Bailey, Science Correspondent, Reason Magazine
  Aubrey de Grey, Ph.D., Professor, University of Cambridge, Department of 
Genetics
  Robert A. Freitas Jr., J.D., Author, Nanomedicine
  Raymond Kurzweil, Kurzweil Technologies; Author, The Age of Spiritual 
Machines
  Max More, Ph.D., Philosophical Strategist; Author, Elements of a New 
Enlightenment: Strategic Philosophy
  Prof. Marvin Minsky, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Author, 
Society of Mind
  Christine Peterson, President Foresight Institute; Author Leaping the 
Abyss: Putting Group Genius to Work
  Prof. Michael D. Shapiro, Professor of Law, University of Southern 
California Law School
  Lee Silver, Ph.D. Professor at Princeton University in the Department of 
Molecular Biology
  Gregory Stock, Ph.D., Director, Program on Medicine, Technology, and 
Society UCLA; Author,
    Redesigning HUMANS: Our Inevitable Genetic Future
  Natasha Vita-More, Designer,  Primo Posthuman;  Author, 1 on One 
Prescription for Fitness
  Roy L. Walford, M.D., Professor of Pathology at the UCLA School of 
Medicine; Author, Maximum Life Span
  Michael West, Ph.D., President and CEO, Advanced Cell Technology

SUMMIT OUTCOMES.
The Vital Progress Summit forms the first phase in the continuing online 
summits, we aim to achieve distinct, practical results. Early deliverables 
expected from the February summit include a concise response to the current 
use of the Precautionary Principle, a policy and values statement to 
counter "Beyond Therapy" report, resources for Internet users.

ABOUT EXTROPY INSTITUTE.
Extropy Institute is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization. Extropy Institute 
sees enormous potential in advanced decision making and strategic thinking 
to accelerate humanity's resolution of fundamental problems. To learn more 
about Extropy Institute: http://www.extropy.org


 Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1"

[ AUTOMATICALLY SKIPPING HTML ENCODING! ] 

Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=23442